Un Año En La Vida
by TinyDancer14
Summary: Follow the Senior Class of 2008 as they go through their last year at East High. A chronicle of oneshots from the first day to the last, from new classes to graduation, and from greetings to saying goodbye...
1. Septiembre

**Hey fanfictioners. This kinda took longer than I wanted it to, but I was struggling. I think this turned out alright, so tell me what you say. This is going to be a chronicle of one-shots that follows the group through their senior year at high school. It'll deal with everything: teen partying, school pressures, and ultimately, saying goodbye. Pleaseeeeeeeeeeee review, because I really want to know what you think. This is going to be like a story to me, because each one-shot will be related, just centered around a different month. So we begin with September. Welcome to Senior Year, East High.**

**Also note that both the title and the chapter titles are in Spanish. I am not Spanish, but I take it as a second language in school, and it's such a great language to take. The chapter titles that you're reading will be in English, while if you scroll for a new chapter, you'll see that they have now been translated into their Spanish equal. Wow, that was a lot more confusing than I thought it would be.**

**Okay, so yeah, I don't own anything. No own, no sue, got it? **

* * *

September

This was it. Senior year.

Gabriella Montez hadn't spent more than three months at one school consistently since she was nine, so staying at East High and finally completing it was a huge accomplishment. With all of her travels under her belt, Gabriella knew that college life would not be too difficult. She got acclimated to new schools easily... it was the making friends part she didn't do so well on. But the gang at East High had taken her under their wing with ease and she was very grateful for them.

_5:58 A.M._

Currently clad in her lacy baby pink camisole and blue sweatpants, Gabriella was in dreamland, cozy warm under the softness of her comforter. Her first day of school outfit- a khaki mini-skirt, warm yellow short-sleeved shirt, and white espadrilles- was lying by her vanity, all prepared to be put on with the greatest of ease. Her school supplies were in her bag by the door and the straightening iron was plugged in, all waiting for the girl under the covers to bring them to life once more.

_5:59 A.M._

But Gabriella was in a deep sleep, only to be ripped from it in one minute. Her dream was about graduation; how she wanted so badly to become valedictorian, graduate with honors, and be accepted into Yale. The only thing holding her back? Troy Bolton. She knew how much he didn't want her to put her dreams aside for him, but she loved him and couldn't bear the thought of being separated from him. And although he tried to reassure her that they could make things work, everyone knew that long-distance relationships, especially in college, never work out.

_6:00 A.M._

Suddenly, a loud shrill shriek sounded from the alarm clock on the bedside table next to Gabriella's head. Its bright red numbers glowed, being the only source of light in the room. Gabriella stirred in her sleep before yawning and rolling over to gently push the switch into the 'Off' position. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes gently before tossing the covers to one side, swinging her legs over and walking swiftly over to the French doors that led to the balcony. Gabriella unlocked them and stepped out into the cool early September air. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the fresh scent of crisp autumn leaves and smiled.

"Hello Senior year."

* * *

"Good morning, East High School. This is Brittney Cohen with your morning announcements. Welcome back to what we hope will be another successful and rewarding year," Student Council president Brittney spoke to each of the students over the P.A. system. "I would first like to welcome our freshman class into the new building. We all know how scary it is transitioning into the new school, so let's try and make it a good day for them." 

Gabriella subconsciously twirled a strand of hair through her fingers as she glanced to her right. Sharpay Evans, in typical glitz and glam manor, sat a few seats down, filing her nails and not paying one bit of attention to the announcements. Ryan Evans, not as pink as last year, sat beside her, trying to balance a pencil on the bridge of his nose. Gabriella laughed and shook her head.

"Seniors, if you haven't scheduled your senior portraits, I suggest you do so soon. Senior portraits must be turned in no later than October fifteenth. Call John Seymour's Studio at 767-4554 to schedule your appointment today. Once again, the number is 767-4554." Brittney continued. "On to clubs and sports tryouts. The Drama Club will have its first meeting next Wednesday at 3:30 P.M. in the auditorium. This will be to assess your musical abilities and discuss tryouts. See Miss Darbus or Drama Club president Sharpay Evans for more details."

Gabriella giggled as Sharpay squealed in excitement. "This year will be better than ever, Gabriella. Wait and see."

Brittney cleared her throat. "The yearbook club will begin on Monday in room 312..."

Gabriella sighed and glanced to her right. Sitting directly beside her- and already asleep- was Jason Cross, a guy so upbeat and hilarious you just loved when he was around. She chuckled softly and nudged him awake. When he jumped up, startled someone had caught him, Gabriella sarcastically chastised him and he poked her.

"The Science Club will meet on Thursday in room 110 after school. This is the club for those who excel at Chemistry or Physics. Or, if you would just like to learn a little more about molecules and atoms, this is the club for you. In January, they compete in a Scholastic Decathlon against another school of choice. See President Taylor McKessie or Vice-President Gabriella Montez for details or with any questions you may have."

Taylor McKessie glanced back at her best friend from her seat with a huge grin on her face. Gabriella returned her grin, and then stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend Chad Danforth, who was rolling his eyes playfully at the two. Jason made a paper airplane and threw it. It soared through the air before landing gently in Chad's afro. The class giggled, not at the airplane itself, but at the fact that Chad hadn't noticed.

"East High's signature sports teams, the Wildcats, are having tryouts for new members of the basketball team. The tryouts will be next Friday afternoon at 3 P.M. in the gymnasium with Coach Bolton. Our Captain Troy Bolton and Co-Captain Chad Danforth will answer any questions you may have."

Gabriella grinned at the mention of her boyfriend. Troy Bolton turned around in his seat to take a look at her, and she smiled at him as he winked at her. Zeke Baylor reached out and gave Troy a high-five as Chad ruffled his hair. Yes, he was the star. And everyone knew it too.

"And those are your morning announcements. Have a great day!!"

_Ring!_

* * *

"Okay, who thought that Brittney had too much pep on the first day of school?" Jason asked the group, his fingers threaded through those of his girlfriend, Kelsi Neilson, who laughed and swatted him playfully. 

The group was now headed into the beautiful Victorian-style home of Zeke Baylor, who nearly begged them to help him and his mom out after school with some baking. Nancy Baylor was a member of the Board of Education, and was sponsoring a back-to-school bake sale for the office. She insisted he make his amazing desserts, and knowing he'd need help, asked for his friends to come along. Reluctantly they agreed, and were now entering the home of Zeke and his three siblings.

"I did, I mean, who's that excited over school starting?" Ryan agreed, reaching a hand out to hold the door open for the large group of teenagers who were walking through the entrance. "Well, except for Gabriella and Taylor."

"Hey!" The two science-acquainted girls squealed in repulsion, reaching out to slap him upside the head. The palms of their hands collided with the soft hair on the back of his head, and he yelled.

"Ow!"

"Serves you right," Gabriella grinned triumphantly, clasping her hand in Troy's once again. "No one makes fun of us geniuses, right Tay?"

"You got it Gabs." Taylor giggled, following Zeke into the kitchen.

The kitchen in Zeke's home was larger than three normal sized kitchens combined. He had two refrigerators, four ovens, and three stoves. With Mark Baylor being the president at a prestigious law firm and Nancy on the Board of Education, the Baylor's were pretty rich, and re-did their kitchen a few years ago, pertaining to Zeke's newfound baking love. Currently, Zeke's mother was at one of the counters, a hysterical baby on her hip and the phone cradling between her shoulder and ear, obviously in a very important conversation. Two slightly older children played in a small pile of flour before her, and continued to throw it at each other, much to Nancy's dismay. Basically, it was chaos.

"... yes, I think that sounds very manageable. Mmhmm... Well of course, I'm working on it now. We'll have a huge variety of sweets. Oh, Mr. Brown, could you hold on for just a moment?" She looked up at the nine teenagers who now stared at the mess in disbelief. "Oh Zeke, honey, thank goodness you're here. Could you... handle this for me for just a sec?"

Zeke nodded and took the crying baby from her arms as Nancy dashed out of the room and into the office. "Shh, Lauren. Calm down, it's okay."

Zeke glanced at Sharpay and she nodded, taking the hint. She'd dealt with Zeke's siblings before, as she had babysat with him on numerous occasions. "Danny, Will, can we please stop playing in the flour? Come on, let's get you guys cleaned up."

The rest of the group watched in awe as Sharpay washed off the seven-year-old twins gingerly, then set them down and ushered them into the next room to play with their Star Wars action figures. By this time, Zeke had calmed down eighteen-month-old Lauren, who was now happily sucking on her fingers. Nancy opened the door to the office and appeared in the kitchen, now without the cell phone.

"Phew! Wow, sorry you guys. That was a very important phone call. Now Zeke dear, I've got to go to the store and get some more nutmeg. I'll take the kids so you guys don't have to deal with them." Nancy smiled tiredly, lifting the baby from her son's arms. "You'll be okay here by yourselves, right?"

"Yeah mom, we'll be fine."

"Okay. Goodbye, then. Thanks for helping us out, kids." Nancy thanked them, and then ushered her three other children out the door.

"Okay guys!" Zeke commanded excitedly after a few moments of silence. "Let's get to work. All of the ingredients you'll need are at the stations, along with the recipes. Jason and Kelsi, you guys will handle chocolate chip cookies. Chad and Taylor, the sugar cookies, Troy and Gabriella the cupcakes, and Sharpay and I will make the apple and blueberry pie. Ryan, just fill in wherever necessary."

"Oh thanks, make me feel like an outcast 'cause I don't have a girlfriend." Ryan slumped, trudging over to Jason and Kelsi.

"Aw, Ryan, you'll find one someday." Gabriella cooed, smiling at him as she gazed down upon the recipe. "I heard Emma's got a crush on you. Sharpay's crony, I mean."

Sharpay scoffed. "She's not my crony! She's just a friend."

Ryan looked at her oddly. "Shar, that's what crony means."

"Oh," The blonde looked away, embarrassedly. "I knew that."

Laughing lightly, Troy turned to Gabriella, who was studying the immense recipe and smiled. He rested his chin upon her shoulder and read along. "I've never made cupcakes before in my life."

She turned her head slightly and kissed him on the cheek. "So this should be interesting."

"It definitely will be."

An hour later, a batch of sugar cookies was cooling on the rack as Kelsi pulled a sheet of chocolate chip ones out of the oven. Ryan was "taste-testing" a scone Zeke had made on the side, and Sharpay was pouring apples into the crust of what was going to be an apple-cinnamon pie. And Troy and Gabriella? Well, they got along better than they thought they did. The first twelve cupcakes were in the oven, while another twelve were waiting to be baked. Gabriella was sitting on the counter beside the pan, licking the batter off of her fingers while Troy stood in front of her, stirring the rest of the gooey liquid in the mixing bowl.

"This is actually really good," Gabriella spoke softly, holding out her hand to him. "Seriously. Raw stuff is so bad for you, but it tastes so good."

Troy wiggled his eyebrows at her before leaning down and capturing one of her fingers in his mouth. She squealed with giggles and he laughed, licking the finger clean of the batter. Gabriella yanked her hand back, her finger making a popping sound as it left his mouth.

"Get your own!!"

He only grinned and kissed her softly on the mouth, which she responded to generously. Zeke came by at that moment, and took notice that Troy was now standing in between her legs and they were kissing profusely.

"So," He shouted loudly and they jumped apart quickly. "How are the cupcakes coming?"

"Uh..." They stammered, glancing around.

Gabriella jumped down off of the counter and yanked the door of the oven open. A puff of smoke erupted out, and Gabriella swore under her breath, waving it away so as to not set off the fire alarm.

"Well, they're a little over-done, but not burnt." Troy concluded, gazing over the dark-brown cupcakes. "Great job Montez!"

Gabriella had to laugh. "Same to you, Bolton."

And if the rest of the year was going to go like this, Gabriella knew she was in for a very fun ride.

* * *

**So what'd you think? Good? Bad? So-so? Please tell me! It'll help for future chapters.**

**Up next: Halloween flies in for a visit, and some people have some very interesting costumes... **


	2. Octubre

**Hellllooooo Fanfictioners!! I'm back with one-shot number two. Thanks for the reviews! I'm grateful for your support. This one's in a Halloween/October/Fall theme. I think it's pretty good. How about you?**

**I own absolutely nothing and I have a headache. That's why my author's note sucks. :(**

* * *

October

"So are we all aware that trick-or-treating is for little kids and that you're all coming to my party?"

Sharpay ceased talking and glanced around at the group, placing a manicured hand on her pumpkin. The gang was over at the Evans household today, October the twentieth. The each sat in a chair around the kitchen table, which was covered in old newspapers, with a pumpkin in front of each of them.

"Shar, trick-or-treating is so fun!" Chad complained. Taylor swatted his arm. "But, I guess we'll come to your party."

"You guess?"

"He knows," Taylor laughed. "We're all coming."

A cool autumn breeze blew then, ruffling the fallen leaves on the ground and swirling them around in a fit of chaos. The leaves had turned a bright red before paling into a warm golden brown. The faint smell of pumpkin guts filled the air and the only sound was the sawing of pumpkin flesh. Gabriella grinned and glanced over at Troy, who was carefully and diligently poking out his design.

"What'll it be this year, Troy? A ghost? Freddy Krueger?"

"A full moon with a werewolf."

"I see," Gabriella observed, turning back to her own pumpkin. "I'm just lucky if I can make a scary face."

Troy laughed but didn't look up, as he was so concentrated and so determined to add the perfect details to his werewolf. Gabriella shook her head lightly and continued to carve out her triangle eyes and jagged teeth. She looked over at her other friends and realized this was where she wanted to be. Enjoying life together and sticking with each other forever. She watched in amusement as Jason traced the outline of a skull and crossbones on his pumpkin, all the while his hand resting Kelsi's knee and a grin was spread across her face. Sharpay struggled to carve two pumpkins at once while Zeke threw together a pumpkin pie in the background, and Ryan, with new girlfriend Emma, had their own special pumpkin they were carving together. Taylor sliced off the top of her pumpkin... as well as the skin on her finger. She began swearing and Chad, being the caring guy no one thought he was, wrapped it in a paper towel and kissed it gently. This was the way they were. The way they always were.

"Done!" Troy cheered, glancing in Gabriella's direction for approval. She smiled in acknowledgement.

"It's so intricate."

"Yeah, it took me a while. But now I can help you with yours."

Gabriella scoffed. "And what's wrong with mine?"

He held up his hands in defense. "Nothing, nothing. It's just... boring, Gabby."

"It's classic," She whined. "Besides, I'm not as artistic as you are."

"But that's why we're together," He explained grinning. "We complete each other."

"Bolton, I like my pumpkin the way it is, thank you very much."

Troy just laughed, shaking his head and opened his own pumpkin again. Reaching for an orange waxy candle that sat in the middle of the table, he grasped it and placed it at the bottom of the pumpkin's interior. He then lit a match and touched the very edge of the wick, producing a small glow that exploded into a full blazing flame. Smiling in satisfaction, he watched as his all of his friends did the same and placed the top of the pumpkin back on the face.

They then arranged their pumpkins in a straight line and stood up, gathering in a group to stand back and look at their handiwork. Sharpay slipped an arm around Zeke's waist and turned off the lights. A chorus of 'Oohs' and 'Awws' came from the group as each of them ran their eyes up and down the row of creative expression. Jason's skull and crossbones seemed to glow with passion and rage, while Kelsi's moon and stars gave off a softer, more elegant effect. Chad's pumpkin, which he insisted had to scare off little ones, was puking out its pumpkin guts while Taylor's had, of course, a deranged mad scientist. Troy's werewolf with its dripping bloody teeth was surrounded by endless full moon, and Gabriella's not-so-sweet scary face looked as if he had just gotten rabies. Zeke's pumpkin, which he'd started and then made Sharpay finish, was of an old rickety haunted house with a 'Beware!' sign out front, while Sharpay's had ended up being a wicked witch, flying off into the midnight on her old broomstick. And Ryan and Emma's pumpkin had a little bit of everything- ghosts, goblins, gremlins and of course, the devil.

"This is so cool," Gabriella whispered, as if talking too loudly would disturb the peace and the flames would die out.

Troy slipped his hand through hers and squeezed it. "I know. They look great, don't they?"

She nodded, and Sharpay turned the lights back on, the rest of the group stepping forward to blow out the candles. And the magic was lost for that moment, only to return a few days later.

* * *

"So, are you excited about Sharpay's party tonight?" Gabriella asked her boyfriend as they walked slowly back to her house after school.

"Kinda. Her parties are always too... I don't know, out of hand." Troy let go of her hand briefly as she unlocked the front door to her house with a laugh.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, Gabriella. Do you remember the cast party for Twinkle Towne?"

Gabriella smiled smugly. "Oh yeah... that was pretty bad."

"And did you know she's judging us on our costumes?" Troy complained, continuing on even as she ducked into the kitchen to check their messages for the day. "I think we'll win, don't you? Our idea was genius."

"Our costumes are pretty cool," Gabriella laughed at his eagerness, appearing in the living room again, this time with two Halloween-themed cookies. She held one out to him. "Happy Halloween Troy."

"Happy Halloween to you too, Gabriella."

An hour later, all homework had been finished and dinner had been eaten. Troy was now dressed in his costume- a gunslinger. He wore light brown cowboy boots with studded spurs on the heel that clicked and clanged whenever he walked. His jeans were a faded blue and were accompanied by a dark black leather belt, a large belt clip holding it all together. Hanging off of his belt was his leather gun holster, complete with a toy pistol that he liked to pretend worked. Troy also wore a collared white shirt and leather suede vest, topped by a long brown over coat which gave him a shady look. Finishing off his look was a red bandana tied loosely around his neck and a velvety cowboy hat atop his head. As he walked over to Gabriella's bathroom door, shoes clinking all the way, he was stopped when it swung open and she stepped out.

"Ready?"

Gabriella was clad in a strapless red dress which reached just above her knee. Two ruffled black ridges started at the bodice and reached her hip, as the top of the dress was ruffled and black as well. A thick black satin sash wrapped around her waist, tying in the back with the rest of the tulle and lace. The hem of the dress flared out in a mass of black lace, which accentuated her long legs. She was wearing long fishnet stockings which ended in her bright red high heels. Topping it all off was a black choker jeweled with red rhinestones the size of a large diamond. And a thick red feather was attached to her mass of brown curls at the top of her head. She looked exactly the part- a saloon girl.

"You look great," Troy complimented, walking the short distance towards her and kissing her softly on the lips.

"Same to you, my gunslinger." She giggled. "Ready to go?"

"Absolutely."

The two grabbed their coats and headed down the stairs only to be greeted by the doorbell. Gabriella squealed in excitement. "Mom! Trick-or-treaters!"

There was a shout of something incoherent from the living room, so Gabriella answered the door herself, and tried her best Western accent. "Hello there, little ones!"

"Trick-or-treat!!" Came the automatic response.

"Well Troy, look here. We've got ourselves some rascals lookin' for candy!"

Troy laughed and decided to play along. "I ain't sure if there's nothing left but root beer barrels and sagebrush, but I'll check."

Gabriella held out the bowl of candy to the children, whose eyes went wide at the different kinds of sweets. "Here ya go kids! You take at least three, ya hear?"

They did, and thanked them for the sweet morsels before skipping off to the next house. Gabriella set the bowl on the table next to the door, called a good night to her mother, and headed out of the house with Troy.

"That was so fun."

"You've got a good Western accent, Gabriella. It sounded really good."

"You too, you should talk like that more often."

The two laughed and made some more small talk about how school was going so far and basketball and such before arriving at the party. Before even parking the car, they could tell that it had already gotten out of hand. There were many cars outside the Evans house as well as kids who hadn't even gone inside. Troy looked at Gabriella who gave him the same worried glance right back.

"Good Lord." She whispered, unbuckling her seatbelt and hopping out of the car.

Troy wove his fingers into hers and they braved the front steps together. Ringing the bell, they were almost immediately greeted by Sharpay, who was just a little on the drunken side... and was wearing a very promiscuous costume. She was dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, but this had taken the term 'Sexy' to the extreme. It was a very micro mini dress, the skirt being a red and white gingham checkered pattern with red lace outlining the hem. The blouse was a black corset laced with red fabric and tied in a big red bow. The white blouse under the corset had big puffy sleeves, but they were covered by the red cloak she was wearing, the hood covering her braided golden blonde hair. She also carried a small little basket which supposedly was the 'picnic' she had brought her grandmother.

"Hey guys! Happy Halloween!!" She shouted excitedly over the music. "Come on in, come in. Great costumes!"

Gabriella stepped reluctantly into the party atmosphere. Troy leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "If she's dressed like this, can you imagine Zeke's costume?"

She giggled slightly, then screamed and jumped back in fright as a large hairy hand landed ungracefully on her shoulder. Troy tensed as well, and pulled her closer to him, but relaxed when the guy took of his mask.

"Guys, it's me!!" Zeke laughed.

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Oh my god, Zeke! Sharpay must've picked out the costumes this year, huh?"

He shrugged, but nodded solemnly. He was dressed in a big flannel nightgown with embroidered flowers and ruffled sleeves. The hem was also ruffled, which added a nice touch to his 'hairy' feet. The back of the nightgown sprouted a long wolf's tail, and upon his hands were two gloves molded like wolf paws. His mask was a vinyl wolf face with hair/fur sprouting off the sides. His fangs stuck out like two sore thumbs and upon his head sat a ruffled nightcap that matched the pattern on his dress. Troy burst into laughter when he realized who this really was.

"Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf?" He laughed in shock. "That's creative."

"Wasn't my idea, man." Zeke mumbled, motioning towards the kitchen. "Jason and Kelsi are in there."

Troy nodded and he and Gabriella pushed their way through the crowd to the kitchen, which seemed to be mellower than the party itself. The kitchen table had been pushed aside and a few of the jack o' lanterns sat upon it, candles glowing and giving the room a more Halloween feel. A few long tables were set up with Halloween themed foods like ghost cookies and creepy crepes. Gabriella spotted Kelsi and, knowing Jason wouldn't be too far away, pulled Troy towards them.

Kelsi and Jason had come as a Vampire King and Queen, and looked as if they had just jumped out of a horror movie. Jason was dressed in a deep burgundy velour vest with attached white sleeves that puffed and ruffled at the wrists. It included his collar, which resembled the sleeves as it ruffled around the base and popped stick straight up. He was wearing black dress pants and shoes, and his black cape with deep red lining hit the floor. Topping it all off was his satin white gloves and reddish gold medallion that hung from his neck, clanging against his chest when he walked. Kelsi looked just as powerful, wearing a full length deep red satin gown with black lace trim and overcoat. It was full length, body-hugging, and swished as she walked. The gown itself was sleeveless, but she wore the overcoat which had long tulle sleeves that reached her elbows, then scattered like cobwebs. She wore a jeweled choker, much like Gabriella's, and a white sparkly crown, signaling her queen authority. Both of them were wearing talcum powder, making their complexion seem pale, and each had fangs with red blood drizzling down their chins.

"Gabriella!" Kelsi exclaimed, hopping up and giving her friend a hug. "You look great!!"

"Thanks Kels, you too!"

Suddenly a microphone was picked up in the next room, and everyone rushed to the middle of the dance floor. Sharpay was on the DJ's booth with the microphone, holding a bunch of colorful awards.

"Hey guys!! You all having fun?" Sharpay asked tipsily. "I know I am! It's time for the costume awards!!"

The crowd groaned and she frowned.

"I'm going to pretend that didn't happen," Pulling the first off the stack she grinned again. "Okay, the first award is the Cutest Costume award. And it goes to- drum roll, Marcus! - Okay, it goes to... My brother, Ryan Evans and his date Emma Phillips! They came as a Dentist and the Tooth Fairy and we thought that was really cute!!"

There was some applause as Ryan in his green scrubs and dentist utilities and Emma in her pink fairy costume and her tooth bag accepted their award and returned to the back of the room. Sharpay stopped clapping and lifted the next award.

"Alright the next one is Goofiest Costume. And this award goes to Taylor McKessie and Chad Danforth who came as Ketchup and Mustard! Come on up here you guys!!"

An obviously annoyed Taylor and ecstatic Chad hurried up to Sharpay and stole their award away. On the way back, Chad tripped and fell in his large red suit. Taylor glanced at Gabriella in annoyance.

"The BONEHEAD!" She screamed and Gabriella giggled.

"So next we have the scariest costume. You guys voted for... Jason Cross and Kelsi Nielson, the Vampire King and Queen!"

After many more awards had been given out, Sharpay held two more in her hands.

"This award is for Most Creative costume, and it goes to... guys, I'm almost done, seriously. The award goes to... Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez who came tonight as the Gunslinger and Saloon Gal!"

Gabriella rolled her eyes and Troy laughed. As soon as they got their award, Sharpay wasted no time getting through the last one.

"... and the award for Skimpiest Costume goes to..." Her eyes grew wide. "ME?"

The room erupted in laughter and she stormed off of the raised platform, tears beginning to fall from her face. Zeke chased after her, determined to make her feel better the way he could. Troy took Gabriella's hand, pulled her through the crowd and out of the house.

"Poor Sharpay,"

"She had it coming, Gabriella. I mean, god, did you see her costume?"

Gabriella laughed. "Yes Troy, I saw it."

"Man Gabriella, time flies."

"I know. I mean, it's like just yesterday we started school, and now..." She trailed off.

He stopped, reaching for her arm and turning her towards him. "Hey, it's gonna be okay, Gabriella. We just have to make the most out of right now."

"Yeah..."

"I love you, Gabriella."

She grinned. "I love you too, Troy."

"Come on, let's get home."

As long as Troy Bolton was by her side, Gabriella knew she could get along totally fine.

* * *

**Aww, Troy always knows what to say. :) **

**Up next: It's turkey day! And Gabriella introduces Troy to an old tradition.  
**


	3. Noviembre

**Hey everyone! If you're in the States, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! If not, well... sorry. Ha ha ha. I'm here with my November chapter! Excited much? Oh I know.**

**I don't own anything. I got the idea near the end from an old Fresh Prince episode. Do enjoy!**

* * *

November

"Good morning East High School! This is Brittney Cohen once again with your morning announcements!"

"Does she have to announce herself every time?" Jason asked Gabriella, leaning over in his chair so that he hovered over her desk. She pushed him back, giggling.

"Apparently so. I don't know, I was beginning to forget who she was."

Jason laughed along with Gabriella, and received a glare from Miss Darbus, telling them to settle down.

"The East High Drama Club's production of West Side Story will be held November 29, 30 and December 1 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Tickets are now on sale, and can be purchased in front of the cafeteria or in the main office for five dollars." Brittney informed the public with a sharp clear voice. Sharpay squealed in excitement and Miss Darbus closed her eyes, a deep grin on her face.

"This majestic production tells the tale of a tragic love story, based on Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet_. Two people coming together through love with violence threatening to tear them apart. East High's production of this tragic tale stars Gabriella Montez as Maria, Troy Bolton as Tony, Ryan Evans as Riff, Brian Allen as Bernardo, Sharpay Evans as Minnie, and Joe Smithsonian as Chino. Directed by Miss Darbus and composed and produced by Kelsi Neilson."

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she watched Sharpay clap excitedly. What was she so excited about? She didn't even have a lead role. She was playing her brother's girlfriend. Incest much? Shaking her head, Gabriella sighed. She hadn't even wanted to be a part of the musical in the first place. But once Miss Darbus sucked you into her vortex of theater, there was no way of getting out of it.

She didn't even listen to the rest of the announcements and soon the bell had rung and she was exiting the classroom. In a complete blur, Troy's hand was slipped into hers and they were joined by the rest of the group, who all gathered before they had to disperse to their first period classes.

"... and I can't wait for opening night. Gosh, I just want Thanksgiving break to be gone already!" Sharpay rambled on, not one person actually paying attention to her.

Troy stopped walking and pressed Gabriella up against the wall, kissing her full on and not caring one bit what other people were thinking. The rest of the gang just laughed and shook their heads, walking away to leaving the couple some privacy. Gabriella pulled away a few moments later, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.

"What was that for?"

"What, I can't kiss my girlfriend?" Troy asked teasingly. "I was getting sick of listening to Sharpay and I'm sure you were too."

"Ah, well in that case," Gabriella kissed him again softly. "Thanks. She's so annoying."

"I thought we like her now?"

"Well we do, but she's still Sharpay. Once a bitch always a bitch. She's just better at covering it up now." Gabriella explained, picking up her schoolbag which had been dropped to the floor from previous activities. "Anyway, I gotta get to Calculus."

"Right," He addressed. "The smart-people math class."

She scoffed. "You're just jealous that you're not in my math class."

He smirked. "Yup. That's what I am. Jealous of your math class."

Gabriella rolled her eyes playfully at his sarcastic tone. "Isn't there like a remedial English class you have to get to Troy?"

"Ha ha, very funny." Troy kissed her forehead gently before slinging his own backpack over his shoulders. "See you at lunch?"

"Yeah, see you then. Bye Troy."

And just as she turned away, he called after her, "Bye Maria."

Gabriella cringed. Damn her good singing voice and Latina heritage.

* * *

"So what are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?" 

Gabriella glanced up from her ham and cheese sandwich and shifted her gaze slowly to each person at the table. She watched intensely as each of her friends thought quickly about their traditions before answering.

"We're having a big dinner party with some friends, if you guys want to come." Sharpay offered, answering for Ryan. "It's not going to be anything formal, just the four of us and some of my parents' friends."

"I'd love to, Shar, but I not only have three younger siblings, but I also have cousins too. Thanksgiving's at my house this year and I've been assigned to baby-sit." Zeke noted glumly. "Plus, I want to supervise in the kitchen. God knows what could go on in there with Aunt Sheila helping Mom cook."

"Well that's really great of you to offer to help," Taylor grinned. "We're just having dinner at our place too. My sister's coming home from Stoneybrook, but other than that, nothing special."

"Same here," Chad agreed with Taylor. "Hey, we should combine our dinners! We could have a McKessie-Danforth smorgasbord!"

Taylor's eyes widened. "You know what smorgasbord means?"

Chad grumbled something incoherent and Taylor only laughed, agreeing to his idea and then kissing him softly on the lips.

"Well I'm going to North Carolina to visit my family." Kelsi answered and Jason smiled.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too."

Their sickened friends watched as the couple kissed... and kissed... and kissed. It was amazing that in such little time two shy people could become so open with their relationship. The group turned to Troy and Gabriella.

"Troy?"

"Uh, well we just have Thanksgiving at my house, usually. I don't think this year's any different."

"You have a million cousins, aunts, and uncles." Gabriella pointed out, sipping her water bottle.

"That's true," He agreed. "How about you, Gabriella? What are you doing?"

"Actually," She began, re-capping her bottle and setting it down. "My father, step-mother, and step-sisters are coming over. But Mom invited her new boyfriend so things wouldn't be too awkward."

The entire table quieted. Gabriella never talked about her father. The most anyone knew was that he and her mother had divorced when she was nine and he remarried a few years ago. They didn't even know she had contact with him, let alone have holidays with him. The only person who didn't seem fazed by this was Troy. Of course, right?

"Really? You're getting to see them again?" He asked her gently, seeing if she was okay with it.

"Yeah, I think it'll be okay. They just moved to Santa Fe and aren't completely settled yet. It was Mom's idea, actually. She offered them a dinner as long as they brought the dessert."

"That's great, Gabriella." Troy grinned, giving her a hug and resting any of her nerves. "I'm sure he'll be glad to see you again."

"I hope so." Gabriella replied, a weak smile on her face. "Then after dinner, Mom and I are going to the homeless shelter off Saint Street to serve them Thanksgiving dinner." She received odd looks from her friends. "What?"

"That's so nice of you, Gab." Chad responded. "Leave it to the good girl to do that."

Gabriella tilted her head to the side and smiled at him. "Thanks Chad. But really, we do it every year. It's our way of giving back, you know?"

"Yeah, that's great." Kelsi encouraged. "I wish I could do that."

Troy kissed her. "You amaze me."

Gabriella laughed. "Troy, it's not that weird of a thing."

"You know what? I'm going to come with you."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Seriously? Are you kidding?"

"No. I want to do this too. I need to give back to my community."

Gabriella squealed with excitement and gave him a hug. "Oh my god! This is so great! Okay, come to my house at like... six, okay? Oh gosh, this'll be so fun!"

As she jumped up to throw her garbage away, Troy glanced at Chad who sat in front of him. He was shaking his head and laughing to himself. Troy rose and eyebrow.

"What?"

"You're so totally whipped, man."

"Shut up, Chad."

* * *

It had been a very successful meal. 

Gabriella and Richard Montez found a lot to talk about. From school to friends, from boyfriends to the past, from moving to the divorce. Lydia, her father's new wife had two daughters, Elizabeth, the same age as herself, and Madilyn, who was sixteen. Gabriella loved Lydia like she was her own mother, and bonded with her step-sisters instantly. With them she talked about college and driving, boys and friends, and so much more.

But then there was the food. Gabriella was so tired and so full she could barely move. All the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, peas, corn, squash... it was just too much. And then of course, the dessert. Lydia and Richard felt horrible that they were unprepared, so they spent the whole day before Thanksgiving baking all sorts of pies. Apple, Cherry, Blueberry, Pumpkin, Chocolate, Boston Crème, Lemon Meringue... any kind you could imagine. And all of them ate until they could burst at the seams.

Now, Gabriella had finished helping her mother, Lydia and the girls clean up and everyone was settled in the living room, watching Thanksgiving Day football and talking here and there about random things.

"Hey Mad," Gabriella began. "You never answered my question."

Madilyn, twisting a lock of strawberry blonde hair around her finger nervously replied, "What question?"

"Do _you_ have a boyfriend? You heard about mine, and I heard about Liz's, what about you?"

"I don't... have one."

Elizabeth laughed. "But she's pretty damn close! Michael Sayers?"

"Shut up Lizzie!" Madilyn cried.

"There's this junior who's totally in love with my sister, and he keeps getting so close to asking her out but every time he-" Elizabeth began to explain, but got cut off by the doorbell.

"Ugh, saved by the bell," She groaned to her sister, who glared right back.

"I'll get it mom," Gabriella said to her mother who was just about to get up. "It's probably Troy."

Reaching for the golden brass handle, Gabriella yanked open the door and received a gust of cool November air. Troy stood before her, a pair of dark jeans and a green long-sleeved shirt upon his body. He hugged his blue jacket closer to him as he stepped inside, shaking some hair out of his eyes.

"Hey Gabriella."

She reached up to kiss him sweetly. "Happy Thanksgiving Troy."

"Same to you, beautiful," Was his response, kissing her all over once more.

"Wanna meet my dad?"

Troy went pale. "Uh... that's not exactly what I had in mind."

Gabriella laughed and laced her hand through his, leading him into the living room. "It's not a big deal."

After about twenty minutes of talking, Troy had met Gabriella's father, leftovers had been assigned, and the guests had gone home. Maria, Gabriella, and Troy piled into the car and headed down to Lewison's Shelter.

As soon as they arrived they were instructed to put on aprons and hairpieces that looked like a shower cap. Gabriella and Maria, with the experience they've already had, loaded plates of food and began to hand it out to people. Troy, however, needed to be shown what to do and exactly how much food to give people. Gabriella laughed as she watched Troy load a plate full of mashed potatoes.

"Troy... that's a bit much, don't you think?"

He shook his head. "Mr. Roberts in the corner over there? He only likes mashed potatoes."

Gabriella smiled. "I know."

He stared at her. "Miss Lawrence has four kids-"

"-two of them have celiac disease and one has diabetes." Gabriella finished for him.

Troy smiled sadly. "Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs-"

"-lost both of their sons to the war in Iraq." Gabriella continued, pouring some gravy on a slice of turkey.

"But they still have a daughter." Troy began, testing her to see if she truly knew everything about these people.

"Yeah, but she just went through a painful divorce and lost custody of her three-month-old baby."

"Wow," Troy sighed, astonished. "You do this a lot, don't you?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah Troy, I do."

"It's so sad."

"It really makes you think how good you've got it, huh?"

Troy looked at her and smiled, kissing her cheek gently. "It sure does."

As Gabriella and Troy continued to serve the homeless people in the shelter, they knew they had a lot to be thankful for.

* * *

**They're too sweet, aren't they?**

**Up next: The East High's production of _West Side Story_, and the big guy in the red suit visits the group... **


	4. Diciembre

**BOYS LIKE OHHH!!! Hahaha, sorry. Listening to my girl A Tizzz right now. But anyway!! Welcome to December. If you are Jewish, or do not celebrate Christmas for any other reason, I'm sorry. But... everyone in this story does. So... it's Christmas-y.**

**I do not own (clears throat... it's a long list!) High School Musical, its characters, West Side Story, its characters or Timex. I am not affiliated with Disney or Timex in any way. Oh and by the way, the necklace Gabriella gets at the end, I have it.**

**So there's something I own. :) **

* * *

December

Gabriella flung herself over Troy's body as he lay motionless on the hardwood floor of the stage. His pristine white shirt was stained with red stage makeup- supposedly blood- and his breathing was slowed to a point where Gabriella wondered if he really did die. Smoothing out her red dress, courtesy of The Costumer, she pulled his lifeless head onto her lap.

"No," She wailed, the microphone picking up her tears as she cried on cue once again. "Tony no. Not my Tony... not my Tony!!"

The surge of anger flew through her and she lay his head down again. Standing and tossing her curls over her shoulders, Gabriella reached out to Joe Smithsonian with a shaky hand. "Give me the gun Chino."

He hesitated, glancing around at the rest of the Sharks' gang. Joe then looked over at the Jets with disdain. Gabriella inched closer to him, thrusting her hand in his face. "I said give me the damn gun!"

Joe shrunk back, but handed the gun to Gabriella, the muzzle facing his forehead. Gabriella laughed bitterly. "How do you work this thing? Just by pulling the trigger?"

"Is that how you fire this?" Both groups were silent as Gabriella cried, swinging the gun around near everyone's face. She whipped around, anger and hurt etched on her face, and walked slowly toward Joe, arms raised and the gun aimed. "How many bullets are left? Enough for you Chino?"

"And you?" Gabriella now faced Sharpay, who trembled and looked away. "We all killed him. My brother and Riff and I... we all killed him. Not just Chino! And you didn't kill him with a gun. No no, you killed him with hate. And now I can kill too, because I have hate!"

People from both gangs began to get nervous as they believed she'd gone mad. She faced Joe one last time. "Can I kill you, Chino? And if I do, will there be a bullet left for me?"

The gun dropped to the floor with a clang as Gabriella sank to the ground. The girls from each gang took away the gun and left the stage while Hallie Owens, the girl playing Gabriella's sister, took Gabriella away from the scene, into a quieter place near the corner. The Sharks and the Jets shook hands and together lifted Troy's body off of the stage. Gabriella and Hallie came forward.

"He's in a better place now, Maria."

"Why?" Gabriella "Why is this world so full of hatred and violence? I should've killed him, Anita."

"And what?" Hallie laughed slightly. "Do what Tony did to Bernardo?"

"I love Tony."

"I know," She said quietly. "I loved Bernardo. Let's go, huh?"

Hallie walked off stage while Gabriella hung her head in silence for a long time. After the long pause she glanced up, staring deep into the eyes of each person in the audience.

"I don't know why they do it, Tony. The world is such a horrible place. Love would be a better thing to pass around then hate. When love comes so strong, there is no right or wrong... Your love is your life." Sighing and walking to the right wing, she paused. "I love you, Tony."

A blackout, and then the roar of applause.

* * *

The morning after the closing night of _West Side Story_, Gabriella woke up to an empty household. Her mother had left for Germany on a business trip a day or two earlier, leaving her daughter to fend for herself for a few days. Hurrying around downstairs, Gabriella decided she'd decorate the house for Christmas as a special surprise for her mother. 

After tearing through all of the special totes with the Christmas decorations in them, her foyer was now a complete mess. Normally, the chaos would make her frustrated and insane, but she was so giddy and excited, nothing was bringing her down.

Turning on some Christmas music to get her in the spirit, Gabriella unraveled the garland with the colored lights and wove it around the banisters. She stuck electric candles in each window facing the street, holding them down to the windowsill with masking tape. Walking around the house, she changed the kitchen towels and knit placemats to holiday linen, and hung various decorations throughout the house- including mistletoe.

Stepping back, she admired her handiwork and then checked the clock. It was already twelve-thirty. Deciding to skip lunch, she bundled herself up in her purple pea coat, knit off-white scarf and matching hat, and gloves. Scooping up the outside lights, Gabriella unlocked the front door and stepped out into the cold.

People thought that because Gabriella Montez and the Wildcats lived in New Mexico, technically a Southern state, that it didn't get colder than about sixty degrees. Well sadly, this was not a reality. On this day, December second, it was a mere twenty two degrees out, and she was freezing.

There was a thin layer of snow on the ground, just about a half of an inch and not enough to really do too much damage. Gabriella sighed as she began to unwind the clear Christmas lights, untying the knots and disentangling it until she could wrap it around the bushes.

"That was some show you put on last night, Maria."

The voice made her jump, and Gabriella let out a breath of relief as she turned around to see her boyfriend behind her. She hadn't even heard him come up. "You too, Tony. What are you doing here?"

"I didn't see you at all last night. I figured I'd come check on you. You know, 'cause your mom's in Austria or something."

"Germany."

"Right."

She smiled at him slightly as she began to wrap the lights around the bushes. "You didn't have to come over. I can take care of myself."

"I know. I just thought-"

"Your parents are putting up decorations and you wanted to get out of it, didn't you?" Gabriella glanced at him over her shoulder. He nodded sheepishly, glancing down at her cobblestone sidewalk. "Nice one, Troy. You didn't escape anything, 'cause that's what I'm doing and as long as you're here, I could use some help."

He sighed, seeing his own breath in the cold air and grabbed the other end of the lights, hooking a female with a male end. "Where do I hook this other end?"

"Um..." Gabriella began, but didn't continue, as she pawed through a tough knot on the very end of the strip.

Troy took a step towards her expectantly. "Babe? The other end?"

"Oh, sorry. Um, the outlet on the side of the house." She mumbled, still attempting to disentangle the knot.

"Need some help?"

"No, I got it." She replied in frustration.

"Okay..."

"There!" Gabriella shouted a good five minutes later, plugging in the final end. "God, that knot was hell."

"It looked it. So, you wanna do something now that you're done with this?"

Gabriella shook her head. "I can't. I'm going Christmas shopping with Taylor and Kelsi."

Troy groaned. "I haven't even started my shopping yet."

"Christmas is in twenty-three days!" Gabriella sang gleefully, stepping inside the house to grab her purse and locking it behind her.

"That's twenty-one days I have left for shopping." He laughed, climbing in the rickety truck his father gave him that summer. "I'll call you later, then?"

"Sure." She smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "Thanks for the help with the lights."

"Your welcome."

Gabriella got into her own car as she watched him drive away. Just as she stuck her key into the ignition, tiny little snowflakes began to fall from the sky. Gabriella gasped and gazed in mezmoration as the itty bitty little flakes of snow coated her car and the ground below her.

It was going to be a white Christmas.

* * *

"Chestnut-colored Uggs!! Sharpay, that's exactly what I wanted!!" Gabriella shrieked after opening the present from her blonde friend. 

"I know!" Sharpay laughed. "Now we can match! Isn't this great? And they're perfect for your skin tone."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Well, I didn't know you could match a boot color to my skin tone, but-"

"Gabriella," Sharpay waved it off, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You can match your skin tone to _anything_."

"Okay!" Chad broke in, getting annoyed. "Next present."

The group of friends were all together on the eve of Christmas, December 24th, at the Evans' house, exchanging gifts they knew they couldn't hand out the next morning. They sat in the formal living room, gifts next to each of them and wrapping paper strewn across the floor. A Christmas CD was playing in the background, while the Evans' lit Christmas tree sat in its stand, fully decorated and the twinkling lights shining, lightly illuminating the room. Taylor handed a box to Chad.

"You really need this." She commented as he began to unwrap it.

"Damn Taylor, how'd you afford this?" Chad gasped, his eyes going wide. "It's amazing."

"I'm sick of you asking me what time it is." Taylor laughed softly as she watched her boyfriend strap on his new gold watch. "It's a Timex."

"I don't care if you bought it from a hobo in a trench coat on the street, this is great." Chad kissed her softly on the lips. "Thank you so much."

"One more," Troy cleared his throat, handing a small box covered in faux velvet to Gabriella.

"You already gave me a present," She protested, shaking her head. "The engraved picture frame with our prom photo in it?"

"Yeah yeah, this is better. I couldn't just get you that. Please, Gabriella. Just open it."

The brunette took the box reluctantly and opened it, all the while looking at him. When he smiled and gestured towards the box, she sighed and glanced inside. Her breath caught in her throat as she lifted it from its respective case. It was solid white gold heart that hung from a white gold chain, threaded through with a pink satin ribbon. She turned to him again, tears in her eyes and practically lunged herself at him.

"Oh my god, this is so amazing!"

Troy grinned, hugging her back. "I thought so."

"Thank you so much, oh god, it's perfect."

"Well I wanna see it." Sharpay decided, craning her neck to catch a glance at the necklace. The group followed, ignoring the couple who were now making out with a passion never reached before.

"You guys!" Kelsi exclaimed, looking over her shoulder. "It's snowing!!"

Troy and Gabriella ceased their kissing and everyone gathered around the glass window, their breaths making fog on the ice cold surface. Ryan turned off the lights in the room for emphasis, and the nine friends watched happily as tiny snowflakes fell onto the road, the bushes, and the windowpane.

"And," Chad grinned triumphantly, checking his new watch. "It's 12 o'clock. Merry Christmas everybody!"

A chorus of 'Merry Christmas' echoed throughout the room. Gabriella fingered her new necklace, staring only at Troy.

"Merry Christmas, Troy."

He kissed her again, this time slowly and lingeringly. "Merry Christmas Gabriella."

* * *

**And Merry Christmas to you readers as well. And even though Hanukkah is over, Happy Hanukkah to those who don't celebrate Christmas. Or, Happy... Kwanzaa. Lol.**

**Up Next: 2008 is upon us, and the gang parties it up with a never-ending New Year's bash. Troy does something extra special for Gabriella. **


	5. Enero

**Hi guys! I realize I'm posting this early, but it's because I won't be home on New Year's (big bash with my friend, lol). This whole shot is basically about the group's New Year's party, so if you don't enjoy teen partying, too bad, lol. If teen partying is your favorite topic in the whole world, ROCK ON! This is your chapter, then mate!**

**Oh, and to the the person who PMed me: I looked it up. And it CAN snow in Albuquerque. So ha. :)**

**I own nothing. Wee! **  


* * *

January

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!"

"Oh my god," Zeke grumbled. "NOT YET!!"

Gabriella turned to Troy. "Remind me again why we're hanging out here and not at your place?"

"Because my parents wanted me out of the house," Troy groaned dejectedly. "I'm so not wanted."

Gabriella laughed softly and patted his shoulder sympathetically. "You're wanted here."

Troy, Gabriella, Zeke, and Jason were hanging out in the den of Zeke's house on Monday the 31st of December, New Year's Eve. Usually, they would gather in Troy's basement or the Evans's place, but today was different. Ryan, Sharpay, and Kelsi were setting up for their New Year's party while Troy's parents were doing the same for their more adult party, wanting Troy out of the house. Now, Daniel and William, Zeke's younger twin brothers, were screaming 'Happy New Year' and running wildly through the house, giving everyone in the den a migraine.

"But I don't get it!" Troy exclaimed. "Rachel and Kate get to stay at home for the adult party, why not me?"

"Troy," Gabriella sighed. "Your sisters are nineteen and a half and twenty-two. They_are_ adults."

"Not fair," He pouted like a child. "Just because they're home from college-"

"You know what I don't get?" Jason interrupted Troy while Gabriella thanked him for doing so. "Why would you teach your brothers to say 'Happy New Year' before it's time?"

Zeke groaned. "I don't know. But I'm starting to regret it."

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!! HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY-"

"Danny honey," Gabriella stopped him. "You aren't supposed to say that yet."

"Why not?"

"Because it isn't midnight."

"When's midnight?"

"At twelve o'clock." Gabriella answered sweetly. "So you don't want to say it yet, right?"

"I guess not," The seven-year-old boy shrugged. "But why don't we say it yet?"

"Well because it's not the New Year yet. See every day starts at midnight. So you can't wish someone a Happy New Year until it's actually the New Year."

Daniel just stared at her. "Huh?"

"Never mind," Gabriella shook her head. "Just don't say it until twelve o'clock tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Danny agreed, racing off to tell his brother.

"Nice Gabriella," Zeke joked. "If I ever want to take a crash course in How To Confuse A Child, I'll come to you."

She glared at him. "You try explaining New Year's to a seven-year-old."

Just then the front door to Zeke's house crashed open and Chad and Taylor stumbled through, looking as if they were completely drunk. It was hard to tell, actually, if they were or not, as they steered their way into the den with the rest of the group, carrying three huge cardboard boxes each. Taylor dropped hers first and collapsed on the couch next Gabriella, while Chad hauled his down and dropped down to the floor.

"That," He panted. "Is some heavy shit."

"What's in there?" Jason asked, peering over the side of one of the boxes.

Chad groaned with the mention of the boxes and Taylor just laughed. "You're such a wimp Chad," Opening one of the boxes, she pawed through the contents. "We've got three hundred boxes of poppers, confetti flick-sticks, horns, noisemakers, leis, balloons, hats, tiaras, a few signs, some ribbon and streamers, champagne cups-"

"Man, you really went all out," Troy commented, glancing into one of the boxes.

"Yeah that's a lot of stuff. But... is it really that heavy?" Gabriella asked skeptically.

Taylor laughed. "No, this stuff isn't the heavy crap. We've also got the food, the plastic silverware, paper plates, cups, and a bunch of finger food appetizers."

Zeke raised his eyebrows. "Still-"

"Not done!" Taylor shouted. "The heaviest thing is the karaoke machine, dozens and dozens of CDs, Dance Dance Revolution, the dance mats, and Chad's Xbox."

"Which, if any of you damage it I will personally kill you," Chad added.

"Wow," Zeke grinned. "This is gonna be some party."

"Oh yeah," Gabriella agreed. "New Year's 2008 will be something to remember."

* * *

"Who brought the alcohol?!?!"

Ryan and Sharpay's house was a mob-scene, jam-packed full of people and students from East High. There were two people singing karaoke in the background while two other people hustled around the DDR mat, trying to keep up with the moves on the screen. The teenagers were dressed casually, but all had 2008 hats or tiaras, leis or necklaces, and were carrying around noisemakers and throwing confetti. Sharpay was stomping around angrily, trying to find the perpetrator who had brought the alcoholic beverages.

"If my parents find out we had alcohol, they're going to kill me!" She screeched to a bunch of juniors. "Who brought the damn beer?"

"Sharpay," Gabriella coaxed her away from the girls. "Calm down. I know who brought the beer."

"You do?!?" She screamed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't ask me yet!" Gabriella defended. "Jack Sullivan brought it in a few hours ago. I tried to get to you to tell you that, but you know what they say: Word travels fast, but Sharpay travels faster."

Sharpay screwed up her nose in confusion. "They say that?"

"You've never heard it?"

"No."

"Oh... well, yeah. They came up with that one when you used to be the gossip queen." Gabriella laughed.

Sharpay smiled and patted Gabriella's shoulder. "Gabriella, I am still the gossip queen. Now where's Jack Sullivan so I can kick his ass?"

"Probably getting wasted by the chips and stuff," The brunette motioned towards the food. "Go get him."

Sharpay stalked angrily over to Jack and his friends, before softening and taking a new approach. She grinned at him and he just stared at her, amusedly. "Hi Jack. I'm really glad you could come tonight."

"Yeah, this is a pretty cool party." He smiled drunkenly.

His eyes were red and Sharpay almost gagged at the strong scent of liquor on his breath. Linking arms with him, she began to walk him towards the front door. "You know what I'm even happier about?"

"What?" Jack asked unknowingly. His two friends began to follow them.

"I'm even happier that you're leaving," Sharpay yelled, opening the front door and shoving him outdoors. "Get out of here, you drunk!"

"Hey! You can't kick him out!" One of his friends yelled back at her.

Sharpay flared. "Oh yeah? Watch me!" She kneed them both in the groin before pushing them out the door as well. Hurrying back indoors, she grabbed the keg of beer and poured it all over the three drunken bodies in the street.

Turning back to her party, Sharpay decided to make a statement. "If you want to drink and get wasted, this is not the party you want to be at. You can join the drunkards in the street."

A few other people left, but the majority of the party was still in effect. Gabriella had now joined Taylor, who was watching Jason and Chad compete in 'Captain Jack' for DDR. Jason was surprisingly good at this game, his eyes watching the screen intensely and his feet moving at an unimaginable speed. Chad, however, was doing poorly, as he glanced at the screen then at Jason, utterly and hopelessly lost. The game ended, and while Jason received an A+ for his efforts, Chad received an E for failure.

"Dude! I owned you!! Fifty bucks on the table right now!" Jason cheered.

"Yeah yeah..." Chad mumbled, digging through his wallet to pay his dues.

"It's alright, Chad. You'll get 'em next time." Taylor sympathized, patting him on the back.

"Hey, have any of you guys seen Troy?" Gabriella asked suddenly. "I haven't seen him in like an hour."

Jason and Chad froze and Taylor eyed them suspiciously. "No, Gab. Sorry. Try the living room?"

"Okay. Thanks guys." Gabriella smiled at the threesome before heading off.

"What's going on?" Taylor asked discreetly. "Why do you guys look like that?"

"Look like what?" Jason said nonchalantly. "We're cool."

"Yeah, everything's fine and normal." Chad agreed.

"Oh please," Taylor waved it off. "Like I'm going to believe that! What's happening? Did Troy do something wrong?"

"No, Troy didn't do something wrong. Look Tay, if I tell you, you have to promise not to tell Gabriella. Okay?" Chad caved.

"Of course not. Now what'd he do?"

"Troy's gonna hate us for telling you," Jason started. "But, he set up this thing for Gabriella in the living room..."

* * *

Gabriella wandered into the living room and stopped dead in her tracks. In the middle of the room, there was a raised stage with two microphones in their respective stands and the karaoke machine. There was a big scrim for the projector that was broadcasting the lyrics to the selected song. Kids filled the room, watching as a couple sang a song on the stage with ease. Gabriella grinned as she realized what this was. Glancing to her right, there was a sign that read, 'Aspen Ski Lodge- Youth New Year's Party.' This was all Troy's idea. It was a recreation of the night they met.

From the other side of the room, Gabriella watched as Troy entered the room looking nervous, but she knew it was an act. He hadn't been too nervous two years ago, and he wasn't going to be tonight either. As the couple discontinued their song, Gabriella stepped up onto the stage while she watched Troy do the same. A guy near the machine put a CD in and pressed play.

As the music flowed through the room, all the memories from the past rushed back to her in a tidal wave of emotions. Gabriella grinned as she remembered that night. She really hadn't wanted to go to that stupid party. What fun would it be? She didn't know anyone and there was no way she was going to try and make new friends. She wasn't very good at that kind of thing. But then she'd been forced to sing, and meeting Troy was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Fate decided to keep them together, and now here they were, singing that same song that, true to its name, started something new.

"_Living in my own world... didn't understand... that anything can happen when you take a chance_."

Gabriella smiled at him and sang her own lines. "_I never believed in what I couldn't see. I never opened my heart to all the possibilities. Oh_,"

"_I know_," Their harmonious voices blended together perfectly, just like they always do. "_That something has changed. Never felt this way. And right here tonight, this could be the start of something new_."

"_It feels so right_," She looked him in the eyes, believing every word she sang. Their group of friends entered the room to watch this magic unfold. "_To be here with you, oh. And now, lookin' in your eyes, I feel in my heart... the start of something new_."

Clapping wildly, the audience danced around them, enjoying the show Troy and Gabriella put on. Kelsi turned to Taylor and whispered, "I've always wondered what it was like to be there that night they met."

"I know," Taylor agreed. "It really makes you believe in fate."

"_It's the start of something new. It feels so right to be here with you, oh. And now, lookin' in your eyes, I feel in my heart,_"

"_The start of something new_," Gabriella sang, grinning madly.

"_The start of something new_," Troy sang back, as if teasing her for more.

"_The start of something... new..._" They finished together, their peers going crazy for them.

And as the audience applauded, Troy extended a hand to her, just like he did two years ago. "Troy."

Giggling, Gabriella took his hand in hers. "Gabriella."

* * *

"That was the best anniversary present ever." Gabriella gushed to Troy as they waited outside for the Evans's New Year's fireworks. "Seriously. And it's not even our anniversary yet."

"Well it's one of them. And I'm glad you liked it." Troy smiled, taking one of her hands in his.

"Frightening, isn't it?" She suddenly asked him. "This could be our last New Year's together."

He squeezed the hand he was holding. "Yeah, that is kind of scary."

"But, it could be the start of something new," She laughed. "Cliché as it might sound, that song has meaning."

Troy eyed her. "Really?"

"Yeah, totally. I mean, this year has to be the best year it can possibly be. We have to make every second count because next year... it'll be all over. We're going to college, Troy. College!"

He sighed. "That never seemed real until right now. Thanks for freaking me out."

She smiled, rubbing his arm with her free hand. "Hey, it'll be okay, right? That's why it's the start of something new. We need to do everything we're contemplating and not worry about the consequences."

"Are you still Gabriella Montez? Because right now, you sound a lot like Sharpay."

Gabriella laughed. "No, I'm still me. I just mean we need to make the most out of this year, Troy. Don't you think?"

Troy grinned. "Of course."

"You guys! You guys!!" Sharpay came sprinting out onto the patio. "They're gonna start!! We've got about eleven seconds until 2008!!"

Chad, Taylor, Gabriella, Troy, Ryan, Sharpay, Zeke, Kelsi, and Jason were lined up near the fencing of the patio, staring into the sky with the rest of the party guests in a huddle behind them. Mr. Evans called out for the countdown, and the large group cheered and began.

"TEN! NINE! EIGHT! SEVEN! SIX! FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE!"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!"

Poppers blew, bells chimed, horns screamed, noisemakers turned and shouted, and confetti was sprinkled all over the outdoors setting. People were hugging, kissing, and cheering, all welcoming each other into the New Year. Troy turned to Gabriella urgently.

"Two years ago, I didn't kiss you when the ball dropped." He explained, pulling her closer. "This year, I'm not that stupid."

She giggled and he pressed his lips against hers in an instant. The kissing couples around them ceased and watched happily as Troy and Gabriella kissed passionately underneath the gleaming stars and bursting fireworks. It was the beginning of a new year. And even though it had only been two minutes in, Troy and Gabriella felt like this was going to be a great one.

Like Gabriella said, it was going to be the start of something new.

* * *

**Lol, I actually had to look up the lyrics to SOSN, because I forgot them. Nice job me, I know, hahah. Review please!!**

**Up Next: Valentines Day arrives, but with the roses and chocolates come letters from colleges, and some people are less than thrilled with their results...**


	6. Febrero

**Happy Valentine's Day folks! Okay, I know that Valentine's Day isn't for another week, but hey, it's about time I updated this, huh? Well Listen Up is finally over, so this story should be getting a lot more attention from me, I promise. **

**Enjoy! And remember, I own nothing. Thanks for your reviews!! **

* * *

February

"I hate Valentine's Day," Jason grumbled to the group as they settled down for lunch.

The entire table, which consisted of Zeke, Ryan, Sharpay, Gabriella, Troy, Chad, and Taylor, rolled their eyes and sighed in ill-temper. A few weeks ago, Kelsi had broken up with him, and to this day he still had not gotten over it. His consistent behavior included moping and slumping around miserably, making his friends and family pay for the misery he was enduring. His friends were beyond annoyed by his constant morbid behavior, and were desperate for someone to straighten him out. Zeke slapped him upside his head.

"Ow!" Jason wailed. "What the hell, man?"

"Dude, Sharpay and I broke up after New Year's. You don't hear me complaining."

"Your point? You dated Ice Queen!"

"Hey!" Sharpay scoffed. "Back off, Jason. Just because you're pathetically depressed, doesn't mean you have to inflict your remorse on me!"

"Actually," Taylor chimed in. "How _did_ you guys end up breaking up so well? Most couples aren't on speaking terms after the termination of a relationship."

Zeke shrugged. "I don't know. We just... we're okay."

"It wasn't anyone's fault," The blonde continued. "We just decided that we were really better off just being friends. It's a better suited thing for us, 'cause we used to argue like every day. But now... there's like no pressure, you know? We're not together and it just... works."

"So much changed in the course of a month," Gabriella added, taking a sip of her water bottle. "Jason and Kelsi broke up, Sharpay and Zeke are over, Taylor and I burned down half of the science wing."

She and her best friend laughed, recalling this year's Decathlon when the lab portion went wrong and ended up in a puff of smoke with a visit from the Albuquerque Fire Department. They were supposed to add two milliliters of iodine, four milliliters of acetone, and eight milliliters of sulfuric acid to the hydrogen chloride. However, it didn't go as planned. The lab instructions were smudged, and they ended up adding twelve milliliters of iodine, twenty-four milliliters of acetone, and thirty-eight milliliters of sulfuric acid. Immediately, it exploded, and caught the desks and chairs on fire, soon burning down four of the eight science rooms in the West wing. Needless to say, they hadn't won the Decathlon this year.

"That was the worst day ever," Taylor groaned. "My scientific professional record is officially scarred."

"Oh no, Taylor's not going to get the Nobel Peace Prize!!" Chad teased in mock horror. "Somebody help her!!"

There was a flitter of contingent chatter as they continued to pick at their lunches and share moods on current situations. But when Kelsi hurried over with her cheerful red tray of school-made lunch food, Jason groaned and uttered,

"I hate Valentine's Day."

"Dude, we don't care," Chad offered, greeting Kelsi with a smile. "What're you doing for Valentine's Kelsi?"

Without looking at Jason, she answered very quietly, "Ikindaalreadyhaveadate."

"... Say that again?"

She sighed. "I have a date."

Ryan looked up from his chicken soup.

"A date?" Sharpay questioned, her eyes gleaming. "Who with?"

Kelsi shrugged, unwrapping her granola bar. "It's just... nobody."

"We can't meet him?"

"No."

"But what if-"

"Shar!" Gabriella cut in enthusiastically; Kelsi sent her a relieved glance. "What are _you_ doing?"

The blonde pursed her lips together. "Nothing. I'm single, so I have no plans."

"Oh..."

"But hopefully, I'll still get something. I mean, come on, I'm Sharpay Evans. _Someone's_ gotta be glad Zeke and I broke up." Sharpay stated indignantly, getting up to throw her dregs away.

"Well," Zeke burst in. "Glad _she's_ happy. I'm taking Jason to Courtney McCarty's Valentine's party."

"You are?" Jason asked, sitting up with his eyebrows raised.

"Yes I am. We're going to find you a woman, man. And me too, hopefully."

"Chad and I," Taylor offered. "Are double-dating with Troy and Gabriella. We're going to get some dinner, and do some other fun couply things."

"Pretty sure 'couply' isn't a word."

"Shut up. You're single."

Sharpay scowled.

"Wait," Troy stopped everyone, glancing at Ryan. "What about you?"

Ryan gulped. "I-I don't really like Valentine's Day. It's just another painful reminder that you're single."

"Thank you, man!" Jason cheered. "Someone agrees with me!"

Ryan gave him a weak smile.

"You told me you were going out," Sharpay countered on him. "Who are you lying to, me or Troy? And it better not be me. We have the same genes."

He sighed. "Troy."

"Really? So you're going out?" Troy asked him, interestedly. "With a girl or some friends we don't know about?"

"S-Some friends."

Troy nodded skeptically and turned to his girlfriend, who seemed to have the same expression on her face. He whispered, "He's lying, isn't he?"

Gabriella nodded, the wheels in her head turning. "Definitely."

* * *

February fourteenth. Valentine's Day.

It was a day of good spirits and happiness as the high school lovers caught up in teenage romance expressed their love for one another, either by giving candy, flowers or jewelry. It was always obvious, even in the East High hallways, who was single, as they were never the ones to get showered in gifts and affection and had to watch painfully as their dating friends received gift upon gift throughout the day. Couples were more open about their public displays of affection than usual; so advanced that the hall monitors and teachers decided against filling out detention slips and breaking up embracing couples.

How could you? It was the day of love.

When Kelsi Neilson arrived at her locker that morning, a red heart was taped on the vinyl of the outside. It read, _Kelsi, though our time together has been short, I cannot express how much fun I've had with you. You're an amazingly talented girl, and I can't wait for tonight. – Your Secret Admirer... even though you know who I am_. She giggled and held the paper heart close to her own. Opening the locker, a single red rose was poking out at her, held down by a plush white teddy bear. She squealed with excitement as Jason watched with Zeke from afar, scowling.

Sharpay accessed her locker a few minutes after Kelsi skipped away happily to find her 'secret admirer.' She was dressed in her typical Valentine's Day apparel- a white miniskirt, silver heels, a pink polo with a red embroidered heart, and her custom-made headband with hearts embellished on it. It was clear she was not happy- being single on Valentine's Day was never fun. Opening her locker, her eyes widened in shock and the glum expression on her face quickly faded away. A huge red box of chocolates sat on the top shelf, propped up and tied with a light pink satin ribbon, the card reading, _Will You Be My Valentine?_ It wasn't labeled, so Sharpay didn't know who had left it for her. But... the only people who knew her combination were the close-knit group of friends. And since she and Zeke had just broken up, who left her the chocolates?

Taylor's morning had been just as prosperous. Chad had presented her with a single red rose at the doorstep, and she freaked out and kissed him. But he told her he wasn't finished. He had a rose for everything that had happened between them over the course of their relationship. The first rose was for when he first asked her out after the championship game. The second was for their first kiss, a few days later. The third rose was for their very first argument, over the dumbest thing ever... and they couldn't even recall it. The fourth was for their first official date, which hadn't ended up as well as planned, but was still monumental for the couple. The fifth rose was for the first time he told her he loved her near a crackling fire when they went camping over the summer. And the sixth and final rose was just because. Just because he loved her... and because you can't buy five roses. Taylor had almost cried until he told her that. She said he ruined the mood.

Troy had decided that since he was a senior, he was going to make every moment memorable. Including Valentine's Day for Gabriella. He wasn't really sure just how much he'd spent on the flowers he ending up buying, but at the moment he didn't really care. He had upset the cheerleaders by his display- which ended up being an intense act of 3-D drawing on the school front walk. In big pink letters, it read, '_Gabriella- I Love You. Happy Valentine's Day_.' He'd presented her with a bouquet of red tulips- her favorite flower- and she cried, telling him it was the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for her. And on each desk in each class she went to, another red tulip was waiting for her. When she asked him how much time and money he spent on this gift, he just blushed and told her, "Don't ask, Gabriella."

All in all, for those who had dates and significant others, it was a great Valentine's Day. Taylor, Sharpay, Gabriella, and Kelsi gushed to each other about their boyfriends and secret admirers, cherishing the gifts and affection they'd received. Sharpay and Kelsi launched into their own conversation, each of them trying to figure out their secret admirer, even though Kelsi knew who hers was. Taylor and Gabriella discussed date details while the guys just sat back and talked about some random things, not really wanting to disturb the fun.

And of course, Jason mentioned he hated Valentine's Day, oh, about a thousand times.

"What you did for me today was seriously the sweetest thing ever." Gabriella commented again as she and Troy approached her house after school.

"Gabriella, you deserved it. And I don't even care that I got detention for a week for using 'graffiti' on school property." He insisted, watching her slip some envelopes from the mailbox.

"I can't believe they gave you detention," She giggled, leafing through a few of the envelopes. "That's so stupid."

"I know," He agreed, following her into the house he knew so well. "What time are we meeting them tonight?"

Gabriella opened her mouth to reply but stopped dead in her tracks when her eyes landed on an envelope from Yale University. "... Oh my god..."

"What?"

She held it out for him. "It's totally official now. We're graduating."

"In four months Gabriella," Troy pointed out. "We've still got time."

"But not enough," She stated, picking through the rest of the mail. "God, all the others are here too. I feel like we just sent them out."

"I know, don't you? But we sent them out three months ago already."

Gabriella put the college letters together in a stack and put the rest of the mail on the kitchen counter for her mother to see. "I can't open these yet."

"Let's call the others," Troy offered, reaching for his phone as he watched her do the same.

A half hour later, all nine of them were gathered in Gabriella's spacious living room, letters in their laps and envelopes discarded on the floor. None of them were willing to speak up first, not even the guys who were supposedly okay with this and trying to keep positive for the girls' sake. Everyone's visage was harder to read than the next, and while some were happy, others were clearly not. Gabriella sighed, this being her house, and decided to crash the mood.

"Guys... we've gotta face this sooner or later."

"How about you go first?" Chad asked. Taylor smacked his arm.

Gabriella sighed. "No, I will. I'm really happy with my results. I got into Yale and Stanford. It'll be kinda hard to choose between them, but... I don't know. I'm really happy."

A chorus of 'congratulations' filled the room. More silence.

Troy stirred next to her. "I got into Syracuse, the University of Connecticut, and U of A. What a freaking hard choice."

A sound of agreement.

"I probably won't go to U of A, because I want to get away from Albuquerque _so bad_." Troy commented. Chad, Zeke, and Jason laughed but nodded.

Taylor scowled. "I didn't get into Harvard, which is my dream school. But I did get into NYU and UCLA."

"_You_ got into NYU?" Sharpay squealed. "That was my last chance!! I didn't get into Julliard and I didn't get into NYU. The next place with a good theater program was Skidmore. And I didn't get into that either!!"

"What did you get into?" Taylor asked.

"U of A and The Academy of Performing Arts." Sharpay answered unhappily. "That's in like Pennsylvania or something. Where am I going to get in life if I don't come from a New York theater college?"

"I don't know, Sharpay," Zeke offered sympathy. "But I'm sorry. On the bright side, I got into FSU!! Aw man, Florida is the best state ever! I can't wait!"

"I'm going to either Clemson or USC," Jason surveyed his options. "Not so sure yet."

Kelsi spoke up meekly. "I got into NYU too. Sorry Sharpay."

"WHAT?!?"

"Well I didn't get into any of the basketball schools I wanted to go to," Chad complained. "This sucks."

"Tell me about it," Sharpay whined.

"I'm gonna have to settle for Michigan State," Chad sighed. "I don't even know how I got into that."

"You applied to Michigan?" Ryan asked surprised. "I did too, but to the U of M."

"Wow you guys," Gabriella sighed. "We're really going to be all over the country."

"What a happy Valentine's Day," Sharpay sighed miserably. "I'm going home."

The gang followed her lead, leaving Troy, Gabriella, Taylor, and Chad behind in Gabriella's living room. Chad grinned suddenly. "Well, we've still got four months left to leave an impact. Let's make sure it's huge."

The others grinned and knew that even though they would be all over the country, their strong friendship bond would hold them together.

* * *

**Okay I realize real college letters probably come in like April or something, but... so what. This is a fanfiction. Review like now. :)**

**Up Next: The Luck O' the Irish flies in, bringing out a new couple, strange good luck for some, and a hospitalization for Gabriella... **


	7. Marzo

**This is the longest chapter ever. Seriously, it was seven and a half pages on Word. Wow.**

**So before I start, I wanna say that this was my idea first, Zac Efron. Seriously. It's not like I copied your ruptured appendix. I've had this idea since I started the story, and each month is already laid out. You just had to go and have an appendectomy, and now it looks like I copied you. But I didn't. So there. **

**Thank you for your reviews. I love you all, and I don't own anything. Enjoy March! **

* * *

March

An alarm clock sounded in the pitch black room of Gabriella Montez, the bright red numbers reading 6:00. She groaned loudly and slammed the heel of her hand repeatedly against the plastic object, waiting for it to cease its incessant sound. She didn't feel herself this morning, and it was harder than usual to get out of bed. Forcing herself to get out of bed, Gabriella felt a shooting pain through her right side. It was so painful, she had to sit back down on her cozy bed to stable herself, waiting for the pain to pass.

It didn't.

She glanced up at her calendar hanging above her bed. March 17. St. Patrick's Day. Gabriella had always loved St. Patrick's Day. Her father was half-Irish and her mother had a slight percentage of Irish in her as well. But Gabriella especially loved dressing up in green- her favorite color- and eating the special meal her mother always made- corn beef and cabbage. Although most people found that horribly disgusting, she loved it, and anticipated it every year.

Except today.

Today all she felt like doing was crawling back under the covers and sleeping her pain away. She'd been sick for the past three days with this unbearable pain and a few cold symptoms too. She was sure she just had a form of the flu- Zeke got it, and then passed it to Kelsi, and then Ryan, and now she was probably next in line. No big deal, right? She just needed another day of recovery. Gabriella was sure she'd be back in school tomorrow.

In that second, Gabriella rushed to the bathroom and emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

Now, she wasn't so sure...

* * *

_Click... Click... Click_

Sharpay walked down the quiet barren hallway, her heels clicking and clacking against the floor as her eyes found the door to the music room and her brain made a note to stop there. She hummed "May We Entertain You" from_Gypsy_, which Ms. Darbus had skillfully chosen to be the spring musical, and she was more than delighted to be a part of it. Especially since she had gotten such a bigger part than the one she had in _West Side Story_. Grinning gleefully, she stopped at the door to the music room and pulled it open.

The lyrics for "All I Need is the Girl" was what Ms. Darbus wanted. It shouldn't be too hard to find, right?

The music room was slightly larger than she remembered, granted she didn't go in there very often. The walls were painted a blinding hospital white, with a stanza and black musical half and full notes dotting across the room. She had to laugh in spite of herself and reached towards the piano in the far corner, hoping there would be music on the stand- and there was, but not for the right song. Ms. Darbus _needed _"All I Need is the Girl" and couldn't settle for "You Gotta Get a Gimmick." Heaven forbid.

Just as Sharpay found the right song, the door to the music room clicked and jiggled before opening. Normally, Sharpay wouldn't have minded spending a few minutes with another student. But this student just happened to be her brother... and Kelsi Nielson. Kelsi Nielson? That seemed somewhat suspicious. She dashed towards the music closet near the cellos and stepped inside, the musty room smelling like oak and dust, only closing the closet door slightly so she could watch the scene unfold in front of her.

"We need to talk, Kels," Ryan spoke first, holding both of her hands in his own.

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's not. It's just... I think we should tell our friends."

"What?!" She shrieked, obviously not agreeing with his idea. "No way! Jason would be so pissed."

"Kelsi, we've been going out for almost two months and the only people who know are us," Ryan tried to reason. Sharpay's eyes widened. "Come on. We've known them for our whole lives. We can't just keep this from them."

"I really don't think it's a good idea, Ry," Kelsi sighed. "I'm afraid of how they're going to react."

"When Troy and Gabriella wanted to do the musical but _everyone_ was pushing them not to, they did it anyway, didn't they?" Ryan asked her. Kelsi nodded. "Why did they do it, Kels?"

She shrugged dejectedly.

"Because they didn't care what anyone thought of them," He answered for her. "And I know we don't have to worry either."

"Well..." She thought it over. "Maybe in a couple of weeks. I... don't think I'm ready."

Ryan smiled. "Okay. That's all I ask."

They leaned in simultaneously and kissed warmly on the mouth. Sharpay was speechless; so _this_ was what her brother was hiding. As she watched the couple leave the music room, she stepped out of the closet and thought over what she'd just learned. Kelsi and Ryan. Dating. And she didn't know. How could her own brother keep something like this from her? Man, this could be all over the school in just a matter of minutes if she wanted it to be. Sharpay grinned.

_Wait_, she thought. _I could have fun with this..._

* * *

"I have to freaking tell somebody before I burst," Sharpay exclaimed as she slammed her bagged lunch on the red table in the cafeteria. Troy, Taylor, and Chad looked up in surprise. 

"What's up?"

She let out an exasperated breath. "Where the hell is Gabriella?"

"Sick," Troy answered. "She has been for the past couple of days now. Where were you?"

"Ugh!" Sharpay groaned in frustration. "Who am I going to tell now?"

Taylor waved a hand. "Hi! I think you may have forgotten I existed."

She rolled her eyes.

"Man, you guys! I love St. Patrick's Day!" Jason came bounding towards the table and sat down by Chad. "It's the luckiest day ever. I gotta tell you what happened today. So first period-"

"Today is one of the worst bad days I've had in a long time," Zeke grumbled, sitting next to Jason. "It's so depressing."

Sharpay reached over and grabbed Taylor by the arm, pulling her out of the conversation with the others. "Ow, hey, what's going on?"

"I found out fourth period today and I've been _dying_ to tell someone," She took a deep breath for dramatic effect. "Ryan and Kelsi are going out."

"What?! Seriously?" Taylor shrieked. "That's so cute."

"Yeah, but they've been going out for the past few months and haven't told us."

"Those conniving little-!"

"I know," Sharpay nodded. "I'm going to make them tell us today. You wanna help?"

"Absolutely."

They rejoined the group, which now Kelsi and Ryan had joined, and Jason was just about to tell them about his luck-filled day.

"So first period, I get into math and usually math is the worst class ever and having to start a day like that is absolutely terrible. But today, I get in there, and my teacher, you know the one who pit stains really badly? She was out on vacation! So we had this old guy substitute who slept in the chair and let us do whatever we wanted. It was great."

"Wow, lucky day." Sharpay commented sarcastically.

"That's not it. But I guess I'll give you the shortened version. That history test I thought I bombed? I got a ninety-four. I found twenty dollars in the hallway. I got picked to be volleyball team captain and we won every game. And, the best part of all, I have a date tonight."

"Alright man!" Chad high-fived his friend. "It's about time you're over Kelsi! ... No offense, Kels."

She laughed. "None taken."

"Well my day absolutely sucked." Zeke sighed. "I forgot my lunch and I don't have any money. I failed the calculus test I thought I did really well on. My sister has colic so I was up all night and didn't get any sleep. I'm still not over that freaking flu, and I got wailed in the head during volleyball today and I still have a headache."

"Aww Zeke," Sharpay sympathized, patting his shoulder. "Sorry your day was so bad. Hopefully it'll get better."

There was a pause in conversation for awhile. Taylor was waiting for Sharpay's order to start ragging on Ryan and Kelsi while Chad and Jason spoke logistics about his date tonight. Kelsi was quietly eating her macaroni and cheese while Ryan beside her was sipping his milk, aware of the tension in the air. Sharpay was eyeing the two of them, the conversation of earlier today playing out again and again in her mind. Zeke was leaning against the table, his eyelids drooping while Troy texted Gabriella underneath the table, afraid to get caught by monitors.

"So Ryan," Sharpay burst out, breaking the silence and nodding at Taylor. "Do you know Sarah Holton?"

"Yeah. What about her?"

"She's a nice girl looking for love," Taylor added. "So Sharpay and I wanted to fix you up with her. You've been alone since you and Emma broke up."

"Nah, that's okay. She's... not my type."

"Is it because you're gay, Ryan? Is that it?" Sharpay confronted her twin. "Because if you are, it's okay with me. I have no problem with homosexuals. That's what the whole drama department is made of."

"I'm not gay." Ryan stated with a strong fierceness in his eyes.

"Then what is it? Is it Sarah? Because she's such a nice girl, Ryan. Sure, she's got that speech impediment and everything, but that can be condoned, can't it?" Taylor asked, noting at the trapped feeling he was getting. Kelsi gulped.

"It's not Sarah," He tried to explain. It's just... I wanted to tell you guys... Kelsi..."

"Relax, Ryan," Sharpay grinned in triumph as the others stared at her in confusion. "We already know."

* * *

After gathering all of Gabriella's textbooks, notebooks, and sheets and packets of homework from Taylor and other classmates, Troy headed over to her house, armed with everything she'd missed. Her mother was working late tonight, and Troy decided he would keep her company. What could he say? He was a nice guy like that. But arriving at her house, he noticed that her mother was home already. What was she doing here so early? The front door to the house was opening as he pulled in the driveway, and Maria Montez was walking through it. 

"Oh Troy, hello," Maria greeted him politely. "How are you?"

"Fine. How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks. Gabriella's feeling worse than she was a few days ago. We're going to go to hospital."

His face paled. "The hospital?"

"Yes, I think she's got appendicitis." Maria nodded towards the front door. "She should be coming any second now."

As if she heard this cue, Gabriella emerged from the front door, shutting and locking it behind her. She was wearing a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt, her hair was tied into a ponytail, and grayish flip-flops were upon her feet. She looked pale and tired, worn from dealing with the pain of her undiagnosed 'appendicitis.' When she turned around and met the eyes of her boyfriend, her face lit up slightly, and she greeted him with a hug.

"Hi."

"Hi," He laughed, hugging her close to him. "You still feel like shit?"

"Yeah. And I don't think it's the flu." She winced in pain. "I feel like I'm dying."

"You should probably get to the hospital then. I just... brought your homework and stuff," Troy gestured to his truck.

"Thanks. You can come too, if you want."

"Do you want me to?"

"I'd probably feel better if you did," Gabriella admitted honestly.

He smiled. "Alright. I'll follow you."

Troy drove behind Gabriella and her mother all the way to Albuquerque's general hospital, informing his parents of where he was going to be and when he'd get home. He called Chad and told him to pass it on to the group that Gabriella was being admitted. Chad agreed to tell the others and that they would all be there for moral support. Upon entering the emergency room, Gabriella's pain had become so bad she was near fainting. The nurses consulted their superiors but knew right away that it was indeed appendicitis.

She was due in surgery in a half hour.

Gabriella changed into her hospital gown, handing her clothes over to her mother and then was helped onto a gurney, finally feeling like her pain was going to go away. She held Troy's hand as the anesthesia was injected into her arm and waited the five to ten minutes for it to kick into action. When it finally did, she felt as though there was no pain or suffering in the world. Troy kissed her a final time before she lay back against the pillow and closed her eyes, gone from the world. The nurses wheeled her into the operating room and dictated for them to wait outside.

And now, an hour later, Troy sat in the waiting room with Maria, Chad, Taylor and the rest of the group, waiting for the surgery to be over with. A doctor had informed them about the logistics of the surgery, and had carelessly mentioned that if not acted upon immediately, an inflamed appendix could be particularly fatal. This had worried Maria, and she sat wringing her hands. But it worried Troy as well, and he was anxiously awaiting the doctor's appearance through the swinging doors of the E.R., telling them she was in recovery and alright.

"So," Chad broke the silence amongst the group. "Do you think they'll let her keep it?"

Troy glanced at him. "Keep what?"

"The appendix. Then we can poke it with a stick and see if it still has nerves."

"I doubt they let patients keep their removed body parts," Sharpay stated in disgust. "Besides, who would want to poke it?"

"I would."

"I'm not going to poke Gabriella's appendix if they let her keep it," Troy stated for the record.

There was a slight pause of silence.

"Can I?"

"Chad, shut up."

"Jason, who are you going out with tonight?" Zeke asked, changing the subject. "I was falling asleep in lunch today, so I missed it."

"Jenna Franklin. She's so hot!"

Kelsi spoke up. "Jason, you're taking the news of Ryan and I awfully well. Are you sure it doesn't bother you?"

He shook his head adamantly. "Honestly, you'd think it would. But I'm okay. What I don't get, though, is why you guys didn't just tell us sooner."

They both shrugged simultaneously, neither one having an answer. Jason let it go.

A few minutes later, a doctor called Maria Montez over and told her she could go in and see her daughter now. He stated everything had gone perfectly as planned and that the anesthetic would wear off in a few minutes. She was in room 406 and was recovering beautifully. Maria thanked him a million times over and headed inside. It was only about ten minutes later when she returned to the waiting room, eyes watery, telling the group of friends they could see her now and that she needed to call Gabriella's father. Troy eagerly stood and reached the room first.

She was awake now, but it didn't look as though she'd been awake for too long. The remnants of surgery lingered throughout her appearance and she looked pale and weak against the white of the hospital bed linens. Her hair, no longer in a ponytail, rested upon her shoulders and she sat up, the bed propped up in proportion to her small frame. An I.V. was stuck in her arm, feeding her the nutrients she'd need to recover properly. When she noticed Troy, she smiled faintly, and motioned for him to come closer. He obliged, sitting in a hard plastic chair beside her.

"Hey. How're you doing?" She asked him first, and he laughed.

"Better than you, that's for sure. Feel better?"

"Much," She nodded. "Mom said you and her were worried I was going to die or something."

"Hey, it's not my fault. That stupid doctor of yours said an inflamed appendix was fatal!"

"Troy," Gabriella laughed groggily. "It was an appendectomy. Not open-heart surgery."

"Still..." Troy trailed off as the rest of the gang poured into her room, ignoring the requests from nurses saying one visitor per room.

They each brought her a gift, whether it was flowers or balloons or even a giant teddy bear (Chad thought it was funny). She grinned. "Thank you so much guys."

"Gabriella we were all worried about you!" Kelsi exclaimed, hugging her carefully.

"Yeah, but don't worry. We're going help you recover." Taylor laughed. "How could you not, with all this great stuff!"

Gabriella giggled along. "You're right. You guys are great."

"Jeez," Zeke sympathized. "I thought my day was bad. I'm not the one lying in the hospital."

"Zeke," Gabriella smiled. "This is the best St. Patrick's Day ever."

The group laughed at Gabriella's sarcastic joke and knew that this moment would be one they would certainly remember.

* * *

**If I kept your attention through all of that, you deserve a round of applause. That was really long.**

**Up Next: Spring break! Parties, beaches, and vacation surges through the veins of each of the students. How exciting is that??**


	8. Abril

**Hey! Okay, so I think that in the spirit of my own spring break coming up, I decided to get into my groove (lol) and write this chapter. It's another long one, but you guys didn't complain last time, so hopefully you won't complain now. WARNING: This one contains _a lot_ of Spanish. Like, a lot. If some of it is not correct, I apologize. I'm not Spanish, so I don't know the language that well, but I have been taking it as a second language in school for the last four years, so hopefully that pulls through for me. Thanks for reading this and enjoy this one!**

**I own nothing. Woohoo!**

* * *

April

"HOLY SHIT LOOK AT THAT!!"

"Jason, I swear to God if I don't kill you..."

"APRIL FOOLS!!"

The friends groaned and rolled their eyes, sighing as Jason burst into hysterical laughter and clutched his stomach as he did so. The nine of them were gathered in the Evans' spacious living room after school on April first, awaiting Sharpay's "extremely important" speech she'd huddled them there for. Everyone was getting very impatient waiting for her to begin, and incredibly annoyed at Jason, who kept on making ridiculous jokes and tried to play a prank on each one of them. However, he was a horrible prankster, so no one ever fell for them.

"Sharpay," Chad urged eagerly. "Get on with it."

"Yeah I have to baby-sit in a few hours, plus there's this new blueberry pie recipe I want to try out." Zeke pointed out gently, not wanting to push her too much.

"And I'm getting my stitches out at four-thirty," Gabriella noted, checking her watch. "And it's three forty-five."

"My sister's having her baby, so I've got to get to the hospital," Jason said with a straight face, and then began laughing all over again. "April Fools!!"

"Okay okay!" Sharpay shouted over the ruckus. "I'll start; stop complaining. And Jason, stop with those stupid pranks. No one's falling for them anyway!"

Jason sulked. "Fine..."

The blonde tossed her hair and grinned. "Alright. As you all know, spring break is upon us. And we all have different plans as to what we're all doing. I wanna discuss those plans now. So... Taylor. You can start."

"Can I start by asking why you want to know this?" Taylor asked. Sharpay's eyes narrowed.

"Because," She sighed in annoyance. "Ryan and I are taking our cruise ship out and whoever doesn't have plans is welcome to come along."

"Oh," Taylor nodded. "Well my parents and I are going to New York to check out the NYU campus and look for apartments. I'll probably be there for half of the vacation, sadly. Though your cruise sounds like so much more fun."

"Well you're not invited anyway," Sharpay stated bitterly. "Because you got into NYU and I didn't."

Taylor rolled her eyes.

"Taylor, you can come with us if you want." Ryan said nicely. She smiled.

"Thanks. I'll try and convince my parents."

"Zeke and I are going on the American Lit trip to England," Chad stated proudly. "So it'll be 'cheerio and all that lot!"

"Wow, nice accent, dude." Zeke winced.

"Shut up, it'll be fun!"

"My mom and I are going to Barcelona to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins," Gabriella threw in. "I'm taking Troy and Jason with me, because neither of them had anything to do."

"So I guess that just leaves me," Kelsi sighed, glancing at Ryan, who nodded. "I'll come on the cruise with you... if that's okay."

"Of course it's okay, Kelsi!" Sharpay shrieked. "You're like family."

Jason turned to Gabriella. "I don't even take Spanish."

She laughed. "This should be an interesting trip for you, then!"

"Okay, when we get home, we all have to meet back here and share our experiences. We're all going to have so much fun!"

"Yeah! Spring break!" Troy cheered excitedly. "This year has to be better than all of the others we've had."

"Most definitely," Sharpay agreed with a small sigh. "It's our last spring break together."

* * *

Chad Danforth and Zeke Baylor were lost.

Granted, they had a map, and signs all around the roads of beautiful London, England were all, of course, in English, but they were still lost. The school trip group had separated for pleasure and leisure time, where they could walk around and go into the various shops, and stop to buy things if they felt the need. Which both of the two did; Chad stopping to buy a few things for his family and for Taylor while Zeke looked around and bought a few British toys for his siblings. But now, as they exited the store and were walking back to meet their group, they could not find them.

"Um... where's Mr. Cohen?" Chad asked nervously. "Weren't we supposed to meet here?"

"That's what I thought. Parkway Avenue, right?" Zeke solicited, glancing both ways down the street.

"Okay... this isn't good. Where are they going next? We can at least meet them there."

"Buckingham Palace, I thought."

"Alright. Let's get a cab."

The two managed to flag down a little black car and climbed in, informing the driver they wanted to get to the Palace. He only laughed.

"Buckingham Palace? That's on the other side of the city!!" He continued to laugh, but neither Zeke nor Chad thought it was funny. "I'll have to drive all the way to Harwich, do you understand? That's bloody ridiculous!"

"Please," Zeke begged. "We're supposed to meet our class there, and we really need to get there fast."

"Yeah, and Harwich can't really be that far, can it?" Chad questioned.

The driver laughed again. "It's sixty-nine miles!! You must be American teenagers, aye?" The two nodded. "Well, it shows."

Chad glanced at Zeke, who shrugged, and turned back to the driver. "It... shows?"

"Yes. You don't know your way around dear old London. I'll take you to Harwich, but it'll cost ya."

"Thank you, sir."

As he drove through the town, the driver pointed out the major attractions of the city. "This is one of the most beautiful cities in all of England. The beaches are usually quite warm too. Are you visiting them?"

"We might later on."

"Ah, then come to this one, lad. It's the cleanest and warmest. See that over there? That tall, gangly thing? That's the National Gallery. And next to that? Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. I'm sure you've heard of that, haven't you lads?"

"Of course! We should go there," Zeke suggested. "I went to the one in L.A. and it's awesome."

"You probably can see it, but that's Big Ben on your right. We're headed into the heart of London now. And of course, down the street from old Big Ben is Westminster Abbey, where all of England's finest monarchs were buried."

"That's so cool..." Chad watched from the window of the cab, amazed.

"And here we are! Buckingham Palace!" The driver of the cab shouted, parking outside the gated palace. "That'll be four thousand pounds."

Chad glanced morbidly at Zeke and they realized that, not only were they lost, they were broke too...

* * *

"Jake! More iced tea!!"

Taylor, Sharpay, and Kelsi were lounging by the crystal-clear blue waters of the Grand Cayman, their cruise ship in sight, soaking up the sun and enjoying the time of total relaxation and serenity. Their three palm green lounge chairs were lined up facing the rolling ocean on the white sand beach, and each were turned accordingly as the sun moved rhythmically across the sky. The sky was as blue as the water below it, and there were only a few single strands of cloud in the sky. It was beautiful, and it was paradise.

Sharpay, in her hot pink bikini with white polka dots, lifted her baby pink sunglasses and squinted an eye towards the direction she'd last seen her beach attendant. "Jake?"

"Coming Miss Evans," He called, three large ice teas in hand. "Chilled to your liking, miss."

"Thank you," She sighed, sipping the cool liquid. "Kels, Tay, your drinks are here."

Kelsi, wearing a bright blue bikini with white trim, and Taylor, dressed in a navy blue bikini, also with white polka dots, sat up and raised their sunglasses to their heads, taking long drinks from their colorful island straws.

"Mm, this is so good," Kelsi gushed. "I love it here."

"Me too," Taylor agreed. "I'm so glad my parents let me come."

Sharpay grinned. "Isn't it fabulous?"

The other girls nodded, giggling and laid down again. Sharpay sighed. "This is my favorite of all the islands. I've been to almost all of the Caribbean islands in my lifetime, but this one is definitely my favorite."

"I can see where it would be," Taylor sighed contentedly, feeling the warm Caribbean sun on her skin. "It's amazing here."

"You know what's even more amazing?" Ryan's voice rang out as he approached them, breaking the tranquility of the moment. "Not lying around all day getting skin cancer and actually doing something."

The girls laughed and sat up. "What do you want us to do?"

"Do you see this?" He gestured all around the island. "It's a little island, but there's so much to do. How many opportunities are you going to have that are like this?"

"Not many."

"Exactly! So let's get out there and have some fun!"

Kelsi, Taylor, and Sharpay obliged, slipping shorts and tank tops over their bathing suits and shoes on their feet. They followed Ryan all over town, as if he were their tour guide, to all the different sights and highlights of the Grand Cayman. They toured to the Conch Shell House, which was a little shop constructed entirely of mollusk shells, the city of Hell, whose name derived from the unusual way its rocks formed, and the Turtle Farm, where sea turtles were bred and raised. It truly was fascinating- all of it. They took a bicycle ride to the east side of the coast, where a kayaking adventure was taking place, and decided to up themselves for the ride. By the time they returned to the Seven-Mile Beach, they were exhausted and ready for a nap.

"Ryan, that was so much fun."

"I know," He grinned. "I told you there was a lot to see."

"What did you do while we were tanning?" Sharpay asked as they boarded their ship again, ready to sail to the next port of call.

"I went snorkeling with my underwater camera," Ryan explained. "I took some great shots of the fish and coral and stuff. It was amazing."

"So what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" Taylor asked curiously.

"Jamaica," Sharpay grinned. "But as for tonight, PARTY!!"

Taylor and Kelsi glanced at each other tiredly. It was going to be a long night...

* * *

"¡Bienvenidos a Barcelona!" Maria Montez shouted as she drove through the beautifully historic streets of Spain. "Welcome to my hometown, guys."

Gabriella grinned, knowing she was talking to the guys rather than her, as she'd been her many times before. "I love Spain."

"Psst... Gabriella." Jason whispered from the backseat. "What did you mom just say?"

"Gabriella," Maria scolded. "You told me they took Spanish."

"Well Troy does," She defended. "Jason takes French."

"This might be a hard trip for him. Make sure he knows what people are saying, okay?" Gabriella nodded. "And Jason honey, I said, 'Welcome to Barcelona.' Now, here's my sister's casa!"

Maria pulled onto a long cobbled driveway and parked behind another similar looking car. The house was a beautiful, Spanish-style stucco house, with three floors and four balconies. There was a thick garden surrounding the front and winding around to the back, filled with flora of all kinds. Maria turned off the vehicle and hopped out of the car into the warm Spanish sunlight, asking for Gabriella's help. She quickly obliged, hurrying to load the luggage out of the car.

"Oh, we'll help, Miss Montez," Troy shouted, gesturing for Jason to follow. "Most of that's pretty heavy."

"Thank you, boys," She smiled, relieved. "I'll go ring the bell and let them know we're here."

"Do they speak English at all?" Jason asked worriedly. Gabriella laughed.

"Of course they do. But we're in Spain... so they're mostly going to be speaking Spanish. Here's the important ones. Hola, which you probably know, is hello. Adios is goodbye. Mucho gusto is nice to meet you, or the common way, anyway. Um... what else... oh! Tia is the word for aunt, tio is the word for uncle, and primos are cousins. Prima is female, primo is male. Okay?"

"I'll never remember that," He sighed.

"Don't worry, Troy and I'll help you. But those are the basics. I think you'll-"

"¡Gabriella! ¡Por fin, estás aquí! ¿Con tus amigos, también?" Gabriella's aunt Marisela rushed over to her and gave her a hug.

"Gabriella," Troy translated for Jason. "You're finally here. With your friends as well?"

"¡Si si, tía! Es mi amigo Jason, y mi novio Troy." Gabriella grinned, introducing them to her aunt.

"Es un placer, Señora..." Troy looked to Gabriella for help. She mouthed 'Rios.' "Señora Rios. Pérdon Jason, no se habla español."

"Okay, so I said this is my friend Jason and my boyfriend Troy," Gabriella had returned to Jason's side to translate. "And Troy said it's a pleasure Mrs. Rios. Excuse Jason, he doesn't speak Spanish."

"Thanks."

"Oh, son, you could've said so!" Marisela grinned, turning to Jason. "We speak English here."

"Nice to meet you. Thank you for letting us stay here." He said politely.

"No es problema. Any friend of Gabriella's is a friend of mine," Her glossy black hair glistened in the sun as she grinned at the three. "Come on now, sobrina. Your mother is already in the house, and your cousins have been waiting."

Gabriella nodded, lacing and arm through Jason's and a entwining her other hand with Troy's, following her aunt into the house. Once inside, they were greeted by the faint smell of paella cooking, which was a delicious Spanish dish that combined vegetables and Spanish rice with chicken and a combination of seafood, one of Maria and Gabriella's favorite dinners. Marisela ushered them into the living room, where her daughters were doing their homework while Maria helped her twin sister in the kitchen.

"¡Gabriella! Estoy muy entusiasmada que tu estas aquí," A teenage girl said hurriedly, greeting her with a hug. "¡Y con chicos muy guapos también!"

"Gabriella, I'm very excited that you're here," Troy translated slowly, and blushed at the last sentence. "And with very handsome boys too."

Jason grinned and turned to the girl. "Why thank you! You're very pretty yourself!"

"Graciela," Gabriella began to introduce her cousin to her friends. "Este es mi novio, Troy, y mi amigo Jason. Jason no se habla español, porque el toma la clase de francés."

"Ah, si," Graciela surveyed the two. "Troy es muy guapo, pero me gusta Jason."

"She likes you," Troy whispered to Jason, who blushed sheepishly.

"It's great to meet you guys," Graciela spoke, her Spanish accent thick and heavy. "I'm Graciela, as Gabriella just mentioned. Welcome to our house! My father has brought your bags to your room upstairs. We have two beds in our guest bedroom, so you two can share. Gabriella will be in with me. Okay?"

"Sure," Troy smiled. "Gracias."

She laughed. "De nada."

"¡Gabriella!" Two little voices shouted from outside. Gabriella's two youngest cousins bounded through the back door, one a few years older than the other, and rushed up to her, gibbering Spanish at top notch speed.

"¡Niñas!" Gabriella shouted, laughing, and bent down to hug both of them. "Hola Julieta, Hola Rosita. ¿Qué tal?"

"Estás aquí! Estás aquí!" They shouted in unison, while Gabriella continued to laugh, kissing each of them on the head.

"Yup, I'm here!" To Troy and Jason she introduced the little girls. "This is Julieta, she's seven. And that's Rosita, she's four."

"All this Spanish is making my brain hurt," Jason complained. "Call me when it's time for dinner."

"Yeah, I think I'm going to unpack." Troy agreed, following Jason up the stairs as Gabriella continued to spend time with her cousins.

A little while later, after the shock and excitement had passed of Gabriella's arrival, she made her way slowly up the handcrafted wooden stairway to Graciela's bedroom. Grinning at the image of her full and unpacked suitcase on the extra bed, she walked slowly across the hardwood floor in the bedroom and opened the French doors, stepping out onto the balcony and inhaling the sweet Spanish air. Only a moment later, she felt a presence beside her, and then a soft touch on her arm.

"Spain is beautiful, isn't it?" Gabriella asked, staring out over the city.

Troy grinned. "It really is. I'm so glad I came with you."

"Me too."

"So what kinds of things are we going to be getting up to, novia?" He asked, kissing her temple.

"I don't know. I want to show your guys around the city and see some architecture. But we could do anything." She sighed. "We could even hop a bus to Cordoba and hit Playa Del Sol. I heard it's nice this time of year."

"Sounds like fun. This is going to be a great break, Gabriella. I can tell."

"Of course it is," She agreed with a smiled. "It'll be a spring break we'll never forget."

* * *

**Okay, so 1) I've been to the Grand Cayman. And it's freaking amazing. Loved every second of it, tbh. And, 2) I wanna go to Spain. Lol. That wasn't necessary, but... oh well.**

**Up Next: Senior Prom draws near, and the girls realize it's their last school function until graduation. The boys conduct their senior prank, and it's one the school may never forget...  
**


	9. Mayo

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUU!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR... ASPIRINGAUTHORESS/KHALI!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUU!**

**Lol, okay. All of my lovely readers, please visit AspiringAuthoress's profile and wish her a happy sixteenth birthday. She'll really appreciate it!! That's my special shout-out to you, Khali. :)**

**Enjoy May, please. And review. And PM Khali. :D Muchas gracias, amigos.**

* * *

May

The late-spring early morning sun shined through the plastic shades in Miss Darbus' homeroom on Friday, May second. She had nearly given up on trying to get the students in said classroom to quiet down and settle in their seats, as each of the members in the room were excitedly chatting to one another about their prom gowns and plans for the weekend following the next. With a sharp shake of her head, she heard the P.A. system sound and turned to the front of the room, her eyes stern.

"Quiet!"

The entire class silenced and turned their attention to the announcements, readying themselves for Brittney Cohen's peppy and cheerful voice they'd been hearing all year. Ryan was busying himself finishing the French homework he'd neglected the night before, Sharpay was painting her nails a bright springy pink, Gabriella was chatting with her homeroom-buddy Jason about various things they needed to do for their respective dates to the prom, Taylor was reading _A Walk To Remember_ by Nicholas Sparks, for the seventeenth time, and tearing up while Chad made fun of her mockingly, and Troy and Zeke were complaining about missing basketball. Needless to say, no one really cared about the announcements anyway. But Brittney Cohen did them everyday, regardless of whether people listened or not.

"Good morning East High School," Brittney greeted warmly. "It's May second and these are your morning announcements. A message from the yearbook club- yearbooks will be in on Friday, May thirtieth and anyone who ordered one may pick it up in the main office. Seniors, cap and gown order forms are due by ninth period today- no later."

"Shit, that's what I forgot!" Jason shrieked, whipping out his order form and filling it out hurriedly. Gabriella laughed at his forgetfulness.

"As the school year is coming to an end, I would like to take this moment to congratulate our senior class of 2008. What better way to celebrate your accomplishments this year than attend the senior prom? Senior prom is on Saturday, May seventeenth beginning at seven p.m. and ending at midnight. The after-party will be held at the La Soirée restaurant in downtown Albuquerque. It will be a night you will never forget."

Sharpay threw a pink sparkly pen at Gabriella and it hit her in the shoulder. She turned to her friend with a 'What the hell?' expression and Sharpay grinned excitedly. "We're going prom shopping tomorrow! Tell your friends, and meet at my house at ten a.m. sharp!"

Gabriella nodded. "Okay. We probably shouldn't have waited this long."

"Probably not," Sharpay agreed. "But who cares. If we don't have a great selection, I'm sure I can get us really nice dresses... _exclusively_."

The brunette grinned, realizing this was the reason she loved being friends with Sharpay.

* * *

Gabriella, Taylor and Kelsi were so tired. And prom hadn't even started yet.

After receiving a facial, a manicure and pedicure for matching nail polish to their dresses, deep conditioning, exfoliating, extracting, and moisturizing, Sharpay finally deemed them ready to begin getting ready for the biggest dance of the year. She was pretty much used to this extravagant life of makeovers whenever she wanted one, but for the other three this was new. Afterwards, they'd trekked over to the beauty salon for hair and makeup, and then back to Sharpay's to dress, adjust, and wait for their dates. But they looked amazing, they had to admit, and they owed it all to Sharpay's 'Prom Makeover List.'

The black stretch limo arrived outside of the Evans household and each of the girls emerged from the front door. Troy greeted Gabriella first, kissing her hard on the mouth before taking in her appearance. He was wearing a simple black tux with a royal blue tie that matched her dress. She was wearing a royal blue silk dress with thick satiny straps embellished with diamonds. It was cut low in the front but even lower in the back, and adorned with crystals and sequins. The straps criss-crossed in the back and led the eye down her smooth, thin body. There was a slit opening on the right leg, but only showed when she lifted it. She was wearing tall white high heels to bring herself to Troy's height, and her hair was curled neatly at her shoulders.

"You look..." He started before kissing her again. "Amazing."

She giggled. "Thank you."

Ryan was next, dressed in his own black tuxedo with a deep purple tie, comparing to Kelsi's dress. Kelsi greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and a long hug before he held her out at arms length to survey her exterior. Her dress was deep purple and floor length, swaying as she walked to him. It wasn't cut too low in the front, but was a crossed halter in the back, sequined and embellished in all the right places. The back wasn't open too much, but had a hidden zipper and a wrap around crystal sash. Her hair was twisted into an up-do, with wisps and strands hanging gently down. She looked absolutely radiant, and beamed when Ryan presented her with the corsage.

"You look great, Kels."

"Thanks. So do you."

Sharpay had agreed to go to the prom with Zeke, who was so cute and nervous when he asked her. His red tie matched her dress, which was floor length as well, and had a small bridal train of red fabric following behind her. Like Gabriella's, it was cut very low in the back, with crystal embellishments and flowered sequins along the thin straps. This same design followed under the bodice and up to one of the straps while the other side was strapless. A pair of sexy red stilettos were upon her feet, making her just slightly taller than Gabriella, but still not taller than Zeke. Her hair was curled and flowing down her back, completing the outfit perfectly.

"W-Wow, um, you look, well I... you're just-" Zeke stammered.

Sharpay laughed. "Thanks, Zeke. Where's my corsage?"

Taylor's dress was made by the same designer who made Sharpay's, and looked somewhat the same, but not similar enough to think they were the same design. Taylor's was a deep green in color with thick straps leading to a thinner strap surrounding the torso area. The back was cut to a point coming a few inches above her backside, which pleased Chad greatly. Like Sharpay's, it was also floor length and had the crystal embellishments and sequin adornments all beneath the bodice, on the straps, and lightly dashing the hem of the dress. She wore matching green heels and her straightened hair was clipped back partially, while Chad grinned in awe.

"Oh man, you look wonderful, Taylor. Corsage?"

"I'd love one."

Jason was dressed in his tux with a yellow tie that matched his date, Jenna Franklin's yellow dress. The couples all piled into the limo and rode to Zeke Baylor's uncle's restaurant where they enjoyed their pre-prom dinner. Afterwards, they arrived at Hilton Garden Suites, where the senior prom was being held. They were fashionably late, happily so, handed in their tickets, and entered the ballroom. Sharpay immediately dragged Zeke out onto the dance floor and Jason and Jenna and Kelsi and Ryan soon followed suit. Troy and Gabriella and Chad and Taylor were left behind.

"Wow. I can't believe we're at prom," Gabriella grinned. "This is so fun."

"We haven't even done anything yet," Troy pointed out.

"That doesn't matter. It's our last school function," She said, then saddened slightly when she realized what she'd just said. "It's our last school function, guys!"

"Well then what are we doing just standing here? Let's dance!" Chad shouted, pulling an awed Taylor into the crowd.

"Are you high?" She asked her boyfriend.

"No. And yes, I'm aware that I just suggested we dance. But hey, it _is_ a dance. And what do you do at dances?"

"Dance?"

"That's it."

Jason and Jenna were shyly slow dancing with each other when Jenna perked up and said, "Your friends seem really fun."

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "They're the best."

"And I... oh god, I feel so weird for admitting this, but... I really like you, Jason." She smiled bashfully at him. "I've liked you for a long time, actually."

Jason's eyebrows shot to the ceiling. "Really? You have?"

"Uh-huh."

"Wow," He sighed, impressed. "If I'd known that, I could've done it a while ago then."

"Done what?"

Jason smirked. "This." He leaned in close and kissed her. And even though she was surprised, she responded back generously.

A few feet away, Kelsi was dancing with Ryan, and grinned at the sight of her ex-boyfriend kissing. "I'm so glad he found someone."

"Yeah, and he's finally over you." Ryan agreed.

There was a short silence before Kelsi turned to him, slight fear in her eyes. "Ryan, do you feel like this is the end?"

He glanced at her in alarm. "The end? No, not really. I feel like it's the beginning."

"The beginning?"

"Yeah," Ryan held her even closer. "The beginning of the rest of our lives."

Meanwhile, Sharpay and Zeke were dancing awkwardly together near the center of the floor. She turned to him with a slight smile. "Zeke?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you ask me to prom?"

He gulped. "Um..."

"I mean, we broke up three months ago and... well I don't know. I thought... I thought we were over each other."

"Sharpay, I was never over you." Zeke admitted finally.

They stopped dancing and Sharpay stood still, staring at him in shock. "You... weren't?"

"No," He sighed, stepping away from her. "But can't you see that? Or were the chocolates not enough?"

Zeke walked out of the ballroom, leaving a stunned Sharpay Evans behind. _Chocolates?_ She didn't know what he was talking about. But then... _Wait, my secret admirer chocolates from Valentines Day? Oh my god..._

And then there were Troy and Gabriella, who, like always, were in their own little world. The slow song they were swaying to was coming to an end and she gazed into his bright blue eyes with a sigh.

"What are you sighing at, Montez?"

She laughed. "Way to kill the moment, Bolton. I was sighing at the fact that after prom, the next school function is... graduation."

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Well that's it. You know, like... that's the end." She sighed again. "I guess it's just... sad, you know?"

"Of course it's sad," He agreed. "But after graduation, we still have a whole summer together before we all leave for college. That's enough time."

"I guess..." But it was clear that she was not convinced.

"Gabriella, I know how you feel. It's hard thinking about the future. And I'm every bit as scared as you are, trust me."

"Then how come you're not freaking out like I am?"

He nudged her. "Someone's gotta take care of you."

She laughed and kissed his cheek lightly. "Thanks."

"What are amazingly wonderful utterly adorable boyfriends for?" Troy shrugged.

Gabriella eyed him. "Don't push it."

* * *

"Okay, we've got to do this quick," Chad hurried out, shoving the other four boys into the boy's locker room. "And we don't want the girls to find out."

"Man, what the hell are you talking about?" Zeke asked. "Unhand me!"

Chad released his grip on both Zeke and Troy's shirts. "Sorry. But what do you think I'm talking about?"

"Um... Taylor won't have sex with you and now you wanna have hot gay sex?" Jason suggested.

They all stared at him before glancing at Chad and backing away.

"Oh god!" Chad cried. "Do you really think that's what I called you guys in here for?"

"Maybe..."

"Taylor and I are doing just fine in the sex department, thank you," He clarified, somewhat flushed. "I was talking about the senior prank, dumbass."

"Oh."

"What are we doing for that anyway?"

"That's what we're here for," Chad sighed. "Any ideas? 'Cause we kinda have to do it soon."

"We could buy a ton of Vaseline and spread it on computer mice, door knobs, cabinet handles, desk seats, pencil sharpener handles, toilets, urinals..." Zeke suggested. "The possibilities are endless."

There was silence amongst the boys for a moment or two.

"Anybody have a better idea?" Ryan laughed.

Jason raised a hand. "We could wear wool coats and hug each other, you know, building up static electricity? And then go hug un-woolen people and watch them get shocked!"

They stared at him in disbelief.

"What?" He whined. "Static electricity... it's from my tutoring sessions with Gabriella, okay?"

"Wait," Troy interrupted. "If we all have one really good idea, and put them all together, we could make a serious lasting impression."

"The mother of all senior pranks," Ryan caught on. "Good idea."

"You guys," Chad grinned. "Let's get to work."

The five guys planned out their prank the Friday afternoon after prom, opting out of hanging out with their girls at the Evans's, and decided that, come Monday, they were going to wreak havoc on the entire school. They didn't involve Sharpay, Gabriella, Kelsi, or Taylor, but instead talked their senior student council president into making a very 'special' morning announcement. She agreed excitingly, seemingly glad to be a part of the prank. The class of 2008 was simply going to be remembered

It was finally Monday, and Jason and Zeke were at work doing their part of the ingenious senior prank at a mere time of six in the morning. No faculty or staff was present in the school yet, so they were safe at work. Jason was busy draining the water fountain and refilling it with hot pink paint, while Zeke was cutting all of the flower displays into shapes of "2008". Afterwards, they set two beer kegs with the tops cut off on top of the front doors, so when the first person to enter the school opened the door, and it was usually the principal, he would smell like alcohol the rest of the day. It wasn't much for a start, but it was something.

Meanwhile, Ryan was inside the school, having entered through a side door with Troy and Chad, filling the administrator's office, the nurse's office, the principal's office, and the counseling center with packing peanuts and popcorn. He filled every last corner with the concoction, laughing hysterically as he did so. By the time he left, each office was filled to waist height with foam and popcorn. He then retreated to the bathroom, filling bucket upon bucket with cold water and dumping it on the gymnasium floor. Cold water didn't do as much damage as hot water did, he figured when he was finished, and stepped back to observe his extremely large Slip 'N Slide before heading out of the school, laughing all the way.

Troy and Chad had the biggest idea ever, however. Troy was juggling his cousin's calico kitten while Chad was loosening the ceiling tiles in Miss Darbus' room. Once they were finally free, he placed five different cell phones that he'd acquired the night before- his father worked for Sprint- in various places above them. When all the phones were set to 'vibrate', all tiles were returned to their places and Troy and Chad had programmed the cell phones' numbers into their own cell phones, they closed the kitten safely into the supply closet, and headed out to the front of the school. It was seven thirty, and buses were pulling into the parking lot.

Showtime.

"What the...?" Mr. Matsui exclaimed when he saw the gooey pink liquid oozing from the water fountain. "What the devil is going on?"

"Principal Matsui!!" The nurse cried. "Someone butchered our beautiful flowers!"

"So they did," The principal observed. "Class of 2008, huh? Well, looks like we've got some pranksters on our hands."

By this time, the five perpetrators were watching happily, snickering every now and then. Gabriella, Kelsi, Taylor and Sharpay arrived and were also in shock of the new changes to the building.

"What's going on?" Kelsi asked.

"Senior prank for the class of 2008," Ryan informed his girlfriend smugly.

"You guys did this?" Gabriella asked incredulously.

"Not only this," Chad laughed. "Wait till we get inside."

Mr. Matsui walked to the front doors, with the nurse, Mrs. Hamilton, by his side. They yanked open the doors and stepped inside... but were drenched in Coors Light beer on the way in.

"Oh my goodness!" Mrs. Hamilton cried. "I'm... soaked in alcohol!"

Mr. Matsui looked as if he were about to blow a fuse. "What is the meaning of this?"

"You soaked them!" Taylor screeched. "Why would you do that??"

"Because it's funny," Zeke exclaimed lamely as they entered the school themselves.

"Party in the gym!!" Mike Rowland, a football player, called out, running with his friends to the gym. The five guys exchanged glances knowingly but the girls looked confused.

"What's in the gym?"

"We'll show you."

Principal Matsui was already standing at the doorway of the gym, informing all of the students that they were close to suspension and would have to pay for the damages to the gym floor. The girls' eyes widened in shock as they watched numerous students belly-slide across the watery gymnasium floor. They were shrieking and laughing in fun nature, not paying any attention to the threats coming from their principal. Gabriella turned to Troy.

"You were responsible for this?"

"Nope," He smiled. "This one was Ryan's idea."

Sharpay and Kelsi both turned to face him. "_You_?!"

"What?" Ryan shouted defensively. "You think I can't come up with a good prank?"

They started to make their way to homeroom when a scream was heard from the direction of the nurse's office. And there Mrs. Hamilton was, standing in an ocean of packing peanuts and popcorn, looking utterly and hopelessly lost. Mr. Matsui looked around and sure enough, the administrators and the counselors were covered as well. Slapping a hand to his forehead, he walked by the nine students, muttering something about abolishing all senior pranks before entering his office to be swallowed by his own sea of foam and popcorn. The nine laughed and entered their homeroom.

"Good morning East High!" Brittney spoke cheerfully. "It seems like we've got a few pranksters on our hands this morning! Now, if you come forward now, there will only be a small punishment. But just know that if you don't, Mr. Matsui will find out who is behind all of this."

Sharpay shot a look at Ryan, who shrugged in response.

"On to normal announcements as if this was a normal day. The Regents Examinations will be held June- oh my. Oh my god!"

Chad grinned, knowing this was all a part of their plan.

"I've just been informed that a... a kitten is on the loose! Here at East High! She was last seen near room... 317."

Miss Darbus paled. 317 was her room.

The announcements ended and Miss Darbus stood. "Do not panic, students. Do we have any pet allergies in here?"

Jason raised his hand, trying not to laugh as he did so. "I can... hide in the closet if you want. My allergies are really severe and if I even see a cat or dog, I faint."

"I really don't think hiding in the closet is necessary... but if you feel like that's what's best-"

"Okay," He hopped up and whipped the door open, the small kitten running out of it. "Ah!!"

Miss Darbus, who seemed scared out of her wits, screamed at the top of her lungs and hopped onto her desk. "SOMEONE CATCH THAT THING!!"

The class scrambled to catch it, but it scurried out of the room, where it was carried to safety by Troy's cousin, not to return. But that didn't mean they weren't finished...

Brittney came over the intercom again. "Um... it seems the kitten is no longer in the hallways or classrooms... but has somehow accessed the ventilation system in the ceiling..."

Troy and Chad simultaneously called the cell phones in the ceiling. They vibrated and the tiles bounced up and down. Miss Darbus shrieked. "IT'S IN MY CEILING!!"

For the next twenty minutes or so, Miss Darbus scrambled about, poking at the ceiling with a broomstick while Troy and Chad continued to call the various cell phones under their desks. The entire class was in hysterical laughter, watching their normally uptight teacher in a frenzy and all the while knowing who was behind the mayhem. This was certainly a class prank no one would forget. Gabriella poked Troy's arm, still clutching her sides from laughing so hard.

"Miss Darbus is going to have a heart attack!"

Troy grinned at his girlfriend. "This prank was so worth it."

* * *

**YAYYY! Okay, so do you all realize there's only three months left in their year? Which means there's only three chapters left... :( I love this story too much to see it end...**

**Up Next: Yearbooks come in and everyone has a hard time thinking of what to say to make a lasting impression. It's the last day of school, and graduation is on everyone's mind...**


	10. Junio

**So did you all wish Khali a happy birthday? You better have. She deserved it; it was her sweet sixteen! And mine's coming up next month, so I better get something then too. :) Anyway, the last chapter was good I guess (I actually don't remember what happened) but I really like this one. So as school is coming to an end, the nine friends deal with saying goodbye.**

**I own nothing. Again!  
**

**Oh, and the song they sing at graduation is 'Come So Far, Got So Far to Go' from Hairspray the movie. I don't own that either.**

* * *

June

"You guys," Gabriella near-cried. "It's the last day of school!"

Taylor, Kelsi, and even Sharpay whined in realization, while the guys just rolled their eyes, clearly glad to be ending another year of high school, whether or not it was their last. Today, students were roaming the halls freely, only bound to the classroom if they had a final exam to take. Each senior student was allowed a completely free day, stopping every now and then to sign a yearbook or take an exam or two, and they all spent it well, enjoying what would most likely be one of their last times together.

Chad sighed, placing an arm around Taylor's waist as they stood in the line where yearbooks were being distributed. "I don't see why you guys are so worked up about the last day of school. I mean, it's over! You should be happy!"

"Chad," Taylor began, annoyed that he could pass this off as nothing. "The fact that it's over is _why_ we're so upset. We're never going to do this again!"

"What, high school?"

"Yes!"

Ryan glanced at Kelsi. "You're not like this, are you?"

She shrugged sadly. "Well, I don't know... It's sad!"

The group approached the front of the line, where Brittney Cohen was handing out the yearbooks with her vice president, Morgan Bally. "Hey guys!"

"Hi Brittney," Gabriella smiled. "You're part of the yearbook club too?"

"Uh-huh!" She grinned cheerfully, nodding. "I'm also part of the FBLA, the Art Club, Best Buddies, French and Spanish club, Key Club, Habitat for Humanity, National Honors Society, and I also do some tutoring and mentoring on the weekends."

They all stared at her in awe. She looked at them in confusion. "What?"

"Damn," Zeke finally commented. "How do you do it all?"

Brittney shrugged. "I have a schedule. It feels good to give back to my community and to be active in the school."

"Right," Jason said, eyeing her strangely.

"So anyway," Brittney laughed. "Nine yearbooks? Are they personalized?"

"Of course they are," Sharpay said. "We're seniors. You can't get a yearbook as a senior and not have it personalized."

"I know, right?" Brittney agreed, searching through the boxes and producing nine yearbooks. "Okay, Bolton, Montez, Evans, Evans, Baylor, McKessie, Danforth, Neilson, and Cross. Is that it?"

"Yup."

"Alright..." She trailed off as each of them picked their respective yearbook off the table and bound off in their own directions. "Well bye guys..."

As everyone headed towards the door leading to the courtyard, Gabriella glanced over her shoulder at Brittney's disappointed expression. She looked... hurt. "I'll be right back."

"What's up?" Troy asked as she removed her hand from his, starting back towards the yearbook table.

"I'll meet you guys outside, okay?" She offered as an explanation and walked up to Brittney. "Hey Brittney, would you sign my yearbook?"

Brittney looked stunned but pleased. "Really?"

"Of course," Gabriella grinned, handing the yearbook to her. "Go on. You can be the first."

"Okay!" She uncapped her ballpoint pen and scrawled a heartfelt message on the inside of the front cover. "I hope it wasn't too long."

"Oh don't even worry about it," Gabriella waved it off. "Thanks!"

"Your welcome, Gabriella!" Brittney said, truly pleased. "See you at graduation tomorrow!"

"See you there," Gabriella called over her shoulder, and then pushed the heavy door that led to the courtyard open, stepping into the glorious sunshine and instantly finding her group of friends at a nearby picnic table. "Hey guys."

"Where'd you go?"

She smiled. "I had to take care of something. What's going on?"

"We," Troy explained. "Are signing yearbooks,"

Gabriella opened her mouth to reply but he cut her off. "Yes I know, the last yearbook signing we'll ever have. Let's not make this any harder than it already is, okay?"

She laughed, and for the next hour and a half, the nine friends just exchanged yearbooks, writing out genuine messages to each other wishing them all the best of luck in their endeavors. Students and classmates would pass by them casually, greeting them with a wave or a hello, or even stopping to partake in the yearbook signing extravaganza. Every now and then, one of them would leave for an exam, but would return sooner or later to continue signing and laughing with their friends. Each message was personal; from one heart to the other.

_Dear Jason:_

_You always make us laugh. I know for a fact that you'll knock 'em dead in California!! Thanks for always being so great to me and the others. We all want to come out and visit you the minute you get settled, because you're the only person going to a place where it's ALWAYS WARM!! Beaches, parties, and fun- that's what college is all about! Can you believe that I just said that?? Have a great time out there, and I hope you'll miss me, because I most certainly will miss you. Best of luck in everything you do!_

_Love, Gabriella _

_Sharpay-_

_I feel like I started this like a business letter. But... I can't say 'Dear' because you'd think I was coming on to you or something (Ha ha). Where can I start, Sharpay? You used to be the Ice Princess, the Diva, the one people were really afraid of. Well, I guess only one of those things have changed- you're not so icy anymore. No really, Sharpay, you changed and you are such a good friend to all of us. Don't even worry about your future, because it's all set out for you. You're awesome._

_-Troy_

_Ryan,_

_You are awesome, man. I don't even know what to say. You used to be like Sharpay's pet, or something. You did everything she told you to and even wore pink and sparkles, which I don't think any brother would EVER do for his sister. We thought you were gay- don't freak- but we realized that you were just... being nice. And then your baseball skills? Seriously dude, is there no end to your talent? Tell you what- this summer I'll teach you a corkscrew pitch if you teach me some of those sick dance moves. Deal? We'll all miss you when you go, so call and visit often! Wildcats forever, man!!_

_Signed, Chad _

"Sharpay?" Zeke asked timidly. "Can I have yours?"

Sharpay, still stunned from his confession at prom, simply nodded and handed over her yearbook. She conversed with Kelsi and Taylor while he wrote and tried not to notice how long it took Zeke to write his message. What could he be saying? Was he professing his love for her or something? When she finally received the book back as Zeke got up to go take one of his exams, she was afraid but eager to see what he had written. Drawing in a cautious breath, Sharpay opened the front cover and found his message.

_Dear Sharpay,_

_Four months. We've been broken up for four months, and I've been hinting at getting back together with you the whole time. I was the one that left you the chocolates, Sharpay. I'm your secret admirer. Why couldn't you see that? The truth is, I'm in love with you, Sharpay. I don't know how you feel about me, but I love you. I've loved you since that winter that Troy and Gabriella stole your show (a date that will live in infamy... like Pearl Harbor). I'm not sure how you'll react or what you'll say to this, but I don't really care. I needed to tell you this, because I was going out of my mind._

_Love Forever, Zeke_

Sharpay didn't know what to say. She walked over behind a tree near the entrance of the school, sat down in its shade, placed the yearbook over her heart, and cried.

Meanwhile, Taylor and Gabriella had a final Physics test to take. Gabriella looked over the messages written in her yearbook and turned to Troy. "You're the only one who hasn't signed yet. Keep it, will you? I'll get it back from you after the test."

"Okay," He agreed unsteadily as she and Taylor entered the building, out of sight. "Chad, what the hell am I supposed to write to her?"

Chad eyed him, giving him a strange look. "To Gabriella? Seriously? You don't know what to write?"

"No! Do you know how hard this is?"

"Not really. I knew exactly what to say to Taylor."

Troy sighed. He and Gabriella have been through _so much_. They met at some New Year's party, never thought they'd see each other again, and then lo and behold, a week later there she was at his school. Unwillingly they had auditioned and landed the lead roles in the musical and changed the social status of East High forever. That was one hell of a relationship history. He opened the cover of her yearbook, trying to see if he could write down everything that he was feeling. Scanning the page, he noticed that the longest message so far was from Taylor, followed by Jason. Taylor and Jason? He could beat them.

_Dear Gabriella,_

_Where do I even begin? We've been through so much, Gabriella. Honestly, I figured this would be easy, you know? But it's so hard. I don't know what to say. High school was a wild ride, that's for sure. But we got through it together and that's all we ever needed. I've had girlfriends before you, but honestly, no one has or ever will compare to you. My Mom says I'm a different person, so much happier since we got together. My Dad says that I play better with you in the stands cheering me on. You know what that says about us? I love you so freaking much I can't even fathom it. And I know for a fact that we can make this work while we're in college, because the University of Connecticut and Yale are in the same city. Hell, they're like twenty minutes away from each other. So no problem, right? We have to make this work. Because I don't think I could ever live without you again._

_All the love in the world, Troy_

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the graduating class of 2008!"

Principal Matsui grinned as the audience cheered and clapped while the students processed down the aisle and into the student seating area. In the sea of cap and gown sameness, they were different only by the looks on their faces. Zeke was in deep thought, wondering how Sharpay had reacted to his yearbook message since he never saw her again. He strained to look over his shoulder at her, but the Bs and the Es were not very close. Troy, Jason, and Chad were closer to each other, and were talking lowly under their breaths so as not to get caught by any teacher or faculty official. Ryan and Sharpay were bickering, Gabriella was nervously adjusting her black cap, and Taylor and Kelsi were trying to keep from crying.

"Thank you all for congregating here with us today on such a special event," Mr. Matsui began his opening speech. "Our class of 2008 has been such a great class to teach and to interact with. They were always prepared to learn, always ready to have a good time, and always disciplined. We are sad to say that we will be letting go some of our greatest students through this graduation ceremony, and they will all certainly be missed. Saying a few words about their classmates are the chosen salutatorian and valedictorian. First, please welcome to the stage your 2008 salutatorian Taylor McKessie."

The audience clapped and Taylor took her place at the podium. "Friends, classmates, and students, you should be extremely proud of your accomplishments. Some of you have been here since kindergarten while others just moved here last year, but you are all the same in that we have all just achieved the same goal- graduating high school. That's the first step on our path to success as an individual. We have the skills and the knowledge to make it, through our communication and social skills especially. I'm sure you all remember that fateful winter when the status quo was broken by two of our classmates. At the time we thought it was the worst thing in the world, but we soon learned that it was exactly what we needed. William Shakespeare once wrote, "To thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day. Thou canst not be false to any man." I believe this statement best applies to a couple who changed our minds and our hearts that winter. They taught me and showed us all that being true to yourself is the key to success. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce one half of that couple to you this afternoon. Our valedictorian, Gabriella Montez!"

Gabriella grinned as the audience applauded her arrival and she gave Taylor a hug. "Thank you, Taylor. That was an incredibly powerful speech. I'm not even sure if I deserve to be up here right now. I came to this school as a shy little sophomore three years ago, while some of you started out as five-year-olds at East Elementary. And to think that there are some guys or girls out there who would've _killed_ to be in this position isn't very easing either. But we made it, you guys. We graduated high school and are now looking at the following step in life. What's next?"

She paused a moment as she stopped to make contact with a few of her classmates. "Well the future is in your hands, class of 2008. Be sure to live your lives to the fullest, because you never know which day is going to be your last. High school was such an emotional roller coaster. But we owe an immense thank you to everyone involved. I'm going to thank Principal Matsui, all of the teachers and staff, and everyone in East High, but if you get a chance later on, be sure to let them know what they meant to you. They deserve your thanks and praise. Principal Matsui once said to us, 'I'm not here to govern a school. I'm not here to scold the trouble makers. I'm not here to just guide graduates. I'm here to produce geniuses.'"

Principal Matsui looked awed that she had used his line and she grinned at him.

"So in closing, I'm going to quote one of the world's favorite geniuses: Dr. Seuss," Gabriella cleared her throat. "_Congratulations! Today is your day! You're off to great places! You're off and away! You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own and you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go. You'll be on your way up! You'll be seeing great sights! You'll join the high fliers who soar to great heights. You won't lag behind because you'll have the speed. You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best. Wherever you go, you'll top all the rest. Today is your day. You're mountain is waiting. So... get on your way_."

"Not many of you know this, but Dr. Seuss was told he would fail as a writer." Gabriella concluded. "But look how popular and successful he became. You can do it too, class of 2008. Never settle for average. Be the best you can be at everything you do. Congratulations; we did it!"

She received a standing ovation and thunderous applause as she walked back to her seat. Taylor leaned over and whispered, "That was amazing, Gabriella."

"Thanks," She sighed. "I'm shaking, I was so nervous."

And then, as if in a surreal blur, Principal Matsui began calling out names. "Jack Anderson."

A long slew of names were called until, "Zeke Baylor," and "Troy Bolton," came after.

"This is all going so fast!" Sharpay whined. "Make it stop!"

"Brittney Cohen."

"Jason Cross."

"Chad's coming up soon..." Kelsi said knowingly.

"Chad Danforth."

"Can't believe he graduated," Taylor laughed teasingly.

"We're coming up, Shar," Ryan said to his sister as they stood and joined the line.

"Don't remind me."

"Ryan Evans."

"Sharpay Evans."

"Can't believe _she_ graduated," Gabriella joked this time, nudging Taylor.

"She almost didn't," Taylor laughed. "Long hours of tutoring. _Long_."

"Taylor McKessie."

"Gabriella Montez."

"Kelsi Nielson."

"That's it," Jason said. "That's everyone."

"Not really," Troy laughed. "They haven't reached the Zs yet."

"Kayla Zimmerman," Principal Matsui called out the final name and then the audience erupted in applause once more. "I now present to you the newly graduated class of 2008!"

"Now ladies and gentlemen, to conclude our ceremony before the recessional, Miss Karen Darbus has been working on a special performance with the entire class since March. I believe that deserves some recognition. Here is the class of 2008 presenting 'Come So Far, Got So Far To Go' from the movie-musical Hairspray, with lead singers from the drama club Troy Bolton, Ryan and Sharpay Evans, and Gabriella Montez."

The entire class assembled onto the risers in the back of the stage while Troy, Sharpay, Ryan and Gabriella stood in front. The familiar tune began to play and Sharpay turned on her microphone, having the first set of lines. "_Hey old friend, let's look back on the crazy clothes we wore. Ain't it fun to look back? And to see it's all been done before._"

"_All those nights together,_" Troy pitched in. "_Are a special memory_."

"_And I can't wait for tomorrow,_" Gabriella sang. "_Just as long as you're dancing next to me._"

"'_Cause it's so clear_," All four of them crooned. "_Every year we get stronger_."

Troy began the ripple. "_What's gone is gone_."

"_The past is the past_," Ryan continued.

"_Turn the radio up_," Gabriella grinned.

"_And then hit the gas, 'cause,_" Sharpay beamed, nodding at the other three as they sang together. "_I know we've come so far, but we've got so far to go. I know the road seems long, but it won't be long till it's time to go. So, most days we'll take it fast and some nights we'll take it slow. I know we've come so far, oh but baby, baby, we've got so far to go!_"

Troy walked over to where Chad was standing on the risers and slung an arm over his shoulders. "_Hey old friend, together, side by side and year by year._"

"_The road was filled with twists and turns. Oh, but that's the road that got us here!_" Gabriella hugged Taylor.

Sharpay grinned at Kelsi. "_Let's move past the bad times, but before those memories fade..._"

Ryan high-fived Jason. "_Let's forgive, but not forget. And learn from all the mistakes we've made._"

The four chimed in together again. "_'Cause it's so clear, every year we get stronger._"

"_So don't give up and don't say when,_" Sharpay and Ryan sang together. "_And just get back on the road again!_"

This time the audience got a surprise when the _entire_ class sang, "_I know we've come so far, but we've got so far to go. I know the road seems long, but it won't be long till it's time to go. So, most days we'll take it fast and some nights we'll take it slow. I know we've come so far, oh but baby, baby, we've got so far to go!_"

"_Hey old friend, come along for the ride! There's plenty of room, so jump inside!_" The class was really getting into the song now, dancing and singing with all their friends. "_The highway's rocky every now and then, but it's so much better than where I've been. Just keep moving at your own speed. Your heart is all the compass you'll ever need. Let's keep cruising the road we're on, 'cause the rear-view mirror only shows what's gone, gone, gone!_"

"_Got so far to go!_"

"_Oh_, _it's so clear!_"

"_Every year we get stronger!_" Ryan sang genuinely.

"_So shine that light_," Troy and Gabriella sang together, lacing their hands together. "_Take my hand, and let's dance into the promise land!_"

"'_Cause I know we've come so far, but we've got so far to go. I know the road seems long, but it won't be long till it's time to go. So, most days we'll take it fast and some nights we'll take it slow. I know we've come so far, oh but baby, baby, we've got so far to go!_"

The class danced crazily together, throwing their caps into the air as the song ended and the audience cheered and whistled, showing they truly enjoyed it. They continued dancing and laughing as the recessed down the aisle, passing by friends and family and showing that graduation wasn't a goodbye, it was a celebration. Eventually, Troy, Gabriella, and the rest of the group found each other in the crowd of students and faculty, and pulled each other into a massive group hug.

"You guys, we did it," Gabriella concluded. "We graduated!! We're done!"

"Oh god, now it's _really_ over!" Kelsi wailed.

"I'm gonna miss you all!" Sharpay announced. "Even Martha, who annoyed the hell out of me. And Brittney, who pissed me off. And Jason, who I never really talked to."

Jason laughed. "I'll miss you too Sharpay."

"We still have all summer, guys," Troy pointed out positively. "All summer."

They all nodded in realization, grinning and forming one giant group hug, knowing they had to make the most out of their last summer together.

* * *

**I love that song. :)  
**

**Up Next: Oh, those summer nights. Independence Day, fireworks, barbecues, and lazy summer days are all around. A big group baseball game gets _everyone_ involved- even Sharpay.**


	11. Julio

**Hello friends! It's about time I updated this, right? Yeah, I figured. This is, sadly, the second-to-last chapter, since, obviously, a year has 12 months and this is the eleventh. Which means that the next chapter has the East High gang saying goodbye! Aw! That's gonna be so sad... but as for now, they're just having a great time at Troy's Fourth of July party. Enjoy!!**

**Happy 16th Birthday to me in three days. Yay! Lol. Other than that, I own nothing.**

* * *

July

"Ole ole!! Ole ole!!"

"Chad, seriously?

"Me mind on fire!! Me soul on fire! Feeling hot, hot, hot!!"

Taylor groaned. "Are you going to help us or not?"

She, Chad, and Gabriella were over at Troy's house the day before Independence Day, helping him get the house ready for the Fourth of July party he would be hosting the next day. Troy's parents would be at Jack's brother's house for the night for a small family get-together, and his sisters Rachel and Kate were left to act as 'responsible adults' and care for Troy while they were gone, which they believed was completely ridiculous since Troy was almost an adult himself. Kate, the older of the two, was going to dinner with her boyfriend, so Rachel was all on her own. She approved of Troy's decision to have a party, as long as it didn't get too out of hand.

Currently, Troy was cutting the grass in both the front lawn and the back, while Rachel was at the grocery store buying food and extra plates and napkins for the party. Troy had asked his friends and girlfriend to help him out getting his home ready for the celebration and they had gladly obliged. Taylor was power washing the pool shed and scrubbing the pollen out of the stamped concrete while Gabriella was skimming and vacuuming the pool floor. Chad was supposed to be helping as well, but instead he had cheekily stolen two towels from the rack by the gate, and wrapped them both around himself, one in a toga-style, the other around his head. He pranced around singing "Hot Hot Hot" and thinking it was absolutely hilarious while the others failed to see the humor after the first few minutes.

"That's hysterical, Chad," Gabriella said deadpanned from her spot on the diving board where she was moving the pool cleaner rhythmically across the bottom of the deep end. "Now quit the crap and help us out here, will you? It's hot and we could really use all the help we can get."

Instead of listening to her, he continued, shimmying towards her and trying to hold back laughter. "Keep up this spirit! Come on let's do it! Feeling hot, hot, hot!"

"Chad..." Gabriella warned.

"Ole, ole! Ole, ole!!"

Sighing, she shoved his shoulder and he stumbled backwards into the pool. He screamed girlishly before splashing into the water and nearly sinking to the bottom. Taylor and Gabriella laughed, shaking their heads and getting back to their work before Chad resurfaced. He had a frown on his face as he swam to the stairs in the shallow end and climbed out onto the concrete. His curls faltered and made him look like a wet poodle. Troy then came around the fence to ask the girls a question, and did a double take upon seeing his soaking best friend.

"Chad, they have these things now called bathing suits. You know, people wear them when they go swimming so they don't look ridiculous like you."

Chad glared at him. "Funny."

"Really? I was serious."

"Gabriella decided that it would be funny if she pushed me into the pool, alright?"

"Actually, I thought it would be funny if you cleaned the bottom of the pool with your face." Gabriella commented from the diving board. "But you fell in back-first."

When Troy and Taylor laughed, Chad only scoffed. "You know, you sounded so much like Sharpay when you said that."

"She tends to sound like her when she's in a bad mood," Troy said knowingly. Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"And anyway," Chad continued. "You'll get yours later."

"Gee, I'm so scared."

"God, this pollen just won't come out," Taylor sighed, sitting back. "Troy, can we _please_ forget the whole 'clean concrete' deal? It looks fine and I couldn't get every single spec out."

Troy walked over to inspect the concrete she was scrubbing. "Yeah, that looks alright."

"Thank you."

"Okay everybody!! I think we're done!" He said a little too excitedly.

Gabriella was picking at her tank top. Chad wrung out his clothing. Taylor yawned.

"Try to contain your enthusiasm."

"Man, I am wiped out," Chad complained, slapping Troy casually on the back. "I'll see you tomorrow man. I need a nap."

"I'm with you on that one," Taylor agreed, walking over to her boyfriend. "I'm exhausted."

Chad smiled. "Nap with me?"

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Change first."

"Aw, come on Taylor! It's keeping me cool!" He whined. "You have a problem with a little... moisture?"

"Dry off and change your clothes," She repeated.

"No!"

"Yes!"

They continued to bicker as they headed off to Chad's car and sped off, leaving a chuckling Troy and an irritable Gabriella behind. She pulled the vacuum out of the pool and turned it off, watching the dirty water flush out of the thin blue tube. Troy watched her as she took it apart and stored it back in its correct placement in his shed before drying her hands off and picking up her purse and car keys off the table. Gabriella turned to him and faked a smile.

"If you need anymore help, just ask."

"Gabriella what is up with you today?" He asked, taking both of her hands and pulling her to the deck stairs, sitting her next to him. "You seem all... un-Gabriella like."

She laughed slightly. "I'm not in such a great mood."

"I know. Why not?"

"I guess I'm just really... stressed," She confessed as he slung his arm around her shoulder. "I'm leaving August twentieth and I have to buy some of my college stuff still and I have to visit the dorm room eventually and my Dad wants to spend time with me so I've gotta go see him sometime and my summer job... ugh, my hours just went completely crazy and I have to help with summer school and tutor these kids so they'll pass tenth grade and-"

"Whoa whoa, Gabriella," Troy calmed her, squeezing her shoulder a little. "Deep breath please."

She laughed again, despite her situation. "Oh, and did you know my mom's getting married?"

"No, I didn't."

"Yeah, me neither."

He looked at her in shock and she nodded. "Yeah. Surprise."

"She didn't tell you?"

"Oh no, she told me. She told me a few days ago, actually. But her boyfriend- well, fiancé now, I guess- proposed to her in _March­_. March!! That's four months she's been engaged and she didn't tell me."

"Wow."

"Exactly. And he's half-Greek and half-Italian, so he wants to have this big Greek wedding in Santorini, and then honeymoon in Venice, and my mom decided she doesn't want a wedding planner and that she's going to do this all by herself but she's _not_ doing this by herself because she's too busy picking out the right wedding dress and matching the bridesmaids dresses, so guess who's actually doing the wedding plans?"

"You?"

"Yes!" Gabriella half-cried. "I guess... I guess I just can't take it anymore."

Troy hugged her even closer and kissed the side of her head. "I don't know what I can say..."

"No, you don't have to say anything," She shook her head. Looking into his eyes she smiled. "Just you being here is enough."

He inched closer and soon they were kissing. "I'm sorry Gabriella."

She kissed him again. "You don't have to be sorry. There's a lot on my plate right now but... you didn't cause any of it."

"Is there anything I can do? Anything I can help you with?"

Gabriella thought for a moment, before grinning at him. "Ever been to Santorini?"

* * *

"Hey Sharpay," Gabriella called out to her blonde friend at Troy's party earlier the next evening. "I loved your float today in the parade."

Sharpay groaned. "I told my Dad that Ryan and I were way too old for that."

Every year, the town of Albuquerque held an Independence Day parade that ran through the middle of the city. People came and sat on the sides of the road to watch the different floats, listen to the various bands, and celebrate the Fourth of July together. The kids loved to collect the candy the floats threw out for them and collect the different free merchandise, such as flags and baseballs. And every year, to promote the country club, Mr. Evans would drive his convertible in the parade, towing a large 'Lava Springs' float behind him... with Sharpay dressed as the Statue of Liberty and Ryan dressed as Uncle Sam. Unfortunately for the twins, this year's fourth was incredibly hot, and being dressed in a green drape or red and white striped pants with a blue jacket, beard, and matching hat was horribly uncomfortable.

"I thought it was funny," Gabriella laughed.

Sharpay glared at her. "Whatever. At least we won't have to worry about it next year."

"Why not?"

"Because we're going to college," She informed her friend in a 'duh' tone.

"Um, Sharpay," Gabriella stated. "College isn't year-round."

"What do you mean?"

"There's a summer vacation. In which you go home."

"Ugh, so that means we'll be home for the Fourth of July?"

Gabriella nodded.

"Damn it."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the yard, Zeke, Jason, and Troy were hanging out by the snacks table, chatting.

"Hey you know what we should do?" Jason asked.

"No Jason, we're not going skinny-dipping," Zeke rolled his eyes. "You gotta stop coming up with stupid ideas."

"Hey, I liked that idea," Chad commented, coming up to the guys. "Don't let them shoot you down, Jase."

"Thank you," Jason grinned. "But no, I was actually thinking something more PG-rated. We should have a huge baseball game. It would be fun, wouldn't it?"

"I think there're too many people here," Troy said glancing around.

"Well get rid of some, man," Zeke suggested. "It's your house."

"True."

"Hey, when are your parents getting back?"

"Um, I don't know. Midnight, maybe? Rachel just told me to get everyone out by ten-thirty, eleven-ish. You know, so we can have enough time to clean up."

"Well it's nine-thirty. Let's just get 'em out now, and then we can play."

"Alright."

Troy and Chad watched as Jason and Zeke ran around to different people, frantically informing them that Troy's parents were coming home any second and that he wasn't supposed to have a party. They had to try not to laugh as panicked teenagers fled the scene, saying short goodbyes to each other and driving off in their own cars. Soon, there was only the original group of nine and Zeke and Jason reported back to Chad and Troy, triumphant grins on their faces.

"Done."

Troy put the solar cover back on the pool and turned on all the outdoor lights. He also lit the citronella candles and tiki torches to keep the mosquitoes at bay. Chad retrieved baseballs and a bat from Troy's garage and headed back behind the basketball court to set things up. Jason brought four bases from the trunk of his car to the back and set them up in the particular fashion. Zeke went around informing the girls that they were going to play baseball as soon as everything was set up and all the girls seemed excited and obliged. All, but one.

Sharpay.

"I am _not_ playing that stupid game."

"Come on, Shar," Ryan pleaded, "Baseball is not stupid. It's fun. Plus, everyone's playing. How can you not?"

"Because I just got my nails painted in a patriotic pattern for today, and I _do not_ want them ruined by that... stick."

"It's a bat," Troy corrected.

"Whatever. Besides, I'm not even good at this game."

The other girls scoffed. "And you think we are?"

"Okay... well I just don't want to."

"Sharpay!!"

"Alright fine!" She gave in, stalking over to the rest of the group. "I'll play, God. But I'm not going to like it."

"I bet you will."

"No, I won't."

"Okay, so how do we want to do this?" Chad asked. "I mean, team-wise. Boys versus girls?"

"No!" The girls shrieked.

"Unfair advantage!" Taylor shouted and the rest of the girls nodded.

"Yeah, not only do you all know how to play, but there're more of you than there are of us," Gabriella pointed out. "It's five to four."

"See, things would be better if I didn't play." Sharpay stated.

"Not really. Then we'd be five to three." Kelsi told her. Sharpay scowled.

"Wait, my sister can play," Troy thought aloud. "Hold on."

A few minutes later, Troy returned with Rachel and the teams were divided up. Troy, Chad, Jason, Ryan, and Zeke with Ryan being team captain versus Gabriella, Taylor, Rachel, Kelsi, and Sharpay, with Taylor being team captain. The game was set and started off with Ryan's team up to bat and Taylor's in the outfield. They were quickly put in the lead when Chad and Ryan hit a home run each, and Gabriella looked at Kelsi mournfully. How could they beat them?

About a half hour later, when it was nearing ten o' clock and they were in their fifth 'inning' of the game, the girls were up to bat and Gabriella, Taylor, and Rachel successfully made it around the diamond. It was Sharpay's turn now, and she stood nervously on home plate, afraid to ruin the girls' good streak like she knew she would end up doing. She had begged Kelsi beforehand to go before her, but she declined, saying she wasn't any better and that her skills were in playing the piano, not playing baseball. Now, Sharpay sighed and gripped the bat tightly in both her hands.

Troy was pitching, and he sent a smooth throw sailing right towards her. She shrieked and jumped out of the way as the ball landed softly in Zeke's glove behind her. "Strike one."

"Sharpay you can do this!" The girls cheered on from behind.

She nodded, retaking her stance and shaking the hair from her face. "Okay. I can do this."

Troy pitched to her again and she swung... but missed. "Strike two."

"S-H-A-R!! P-A-Y!! Sharpay Evans will make you cry!!" Kelsi cheered.

Sharpay glared at her. "You blew my concentration!"

"I think it's too early for team chants, Kels," Gabriella advised.

"Sorry."

This time before pitching, Troy held out the ball towards her face, as if showing her what was coming towards her. She rolled her eyes. "Get on with it already!"

"Alright, chill!" Troy said, pitching the ball.

Sharpay swung the bat and hit the ball. She squealed in excitement when she realized she'd actually hit it this time. Running full speed to first base, she allowed a few moments to cheer herself on. When she noticed no one was trying to tag her out, she ran to second. And then to third. And then all the way home. She was so thrilled by her home run, and she began clapping for herself excitedly and then stopped abruptly when she noticed no one was joining in on her fun. Sharpay stared at each of them in question.

"Why is no one happy for me? I just hit a home run!"

"Do you want to tell her or should I?" Taylor whispered to Gabriella, who only shook her head.

"Tell me what?"

"Sharpay..." Troy started cautiously. "It was a foul ball."

She stood unfazed for a moment before letting out a long groan and sulking back to home plate. "Damn you, Bolton."

It was the bottom of the ninth inning now, and the boys were winning thirty-six to thirty-three. It was _so close_, and the girls were up to bat again. They wanted to win this worse than they'd ever wanted to win anything ever before. If they didn't, they'd never hear the end of it. Sharpay was up to bat again, while Gabriella was on first, Taylor was on second, and Rachel was on third. The bases were loaded and this last hit determined whether they won or whether they lost. Each of the girls watched Sharpay and she knew the pressure was on.

This time it was Ryan who was pitching and he wound up and tossed the ball underhand towards her. She swung and missed, regretfully. "Strike one!" Jason, the designated catcher, called from behind her.

"Take it easy, Sharpay," Rachel advised. "Just keep your eye on the ball."

"You can do this, Sharpay," Gabriella called to her. "Nice and easy."

"Come on, Sharpay," Taylor urged. "Hit that ball! Pretend it's Ryan's head!"

"Hey!" Ryan shouted.

"Go Sharpay, go!!" Kelsi cheered. "Come on, we've gotta win this!"

Ryan pitched another ball to her, nice and slow, and she closed her eyes and smacked the ball into the sky. The girls screamed and raced towards the next designated base, shouting the whole time, "Run, Sharpay! Run!" It didn't even hit her that she'd actually hit the ball until Kelsi pushed her towards first base and she started to run. Rachel made it home, scoring a point for her team. Taylor made it home as well, scoring another point for the girls. Sharpay was on second at this point and stopped temporarily to see if any of the guys had retrieved the ball. Luckily, they hadn't.

"Chad, the ball!" Troy shouted to his best friend, who was frantically racing through the woods behind Troy's house. "Get the damn ball!"

"I can't find it!! I can't find it!"

Sharpay took this to an advantage as she watched Gabriella make it home too, scoring yet another point for their team. This brought the score up to thirty-six to thirty-six, a tie, she figured, running to third. This last point depended on her. Who won the game depended on _her_. If she made it home now without Chad tagging her with the ball, the girls won. If she didn't... they would lose because of her. She had to win this. She just had to. She was about halfway to home plate when she heard Chad shout,

"I got it!"

"Uh-oh..."

Chad threw the ball forcefully to Ryan who ran towards Sharpay at a quickening speed. She screamed and tried to run even faster towards home plate, but she was tiring herself out and didn't think she could make it that extra thirty feet. Ryan was gaining increasing speed, and was catching up to her. But she couldn't give up. She had to win this for her team. She'd been through so much already and to not win would just be a disgrace. Glancing behind her shoulder, she sighed and noted the Ryan was nearly right behind her. Damn. They lost. Oh, but home plate was so close...

"Slide Sharpay!!" The girls yelled. "SLIDE!!"

"Are you crazy?" She shouted back. "I'm wearing a dress!!"

"SLIDE!"

When she glanced back again, Ryan was even closer, and had his arm extended in attempt to reach her with the baseball. She closed her eyes and screamed, diving towards home plate landing on the grass with a thud. She gripped the plate with all her might and felt Ryan tag her, but still kept her eyes closed. Everyone was silent and waited for Jason to tell whether she was safe or out. Whether they'd won or lost. Whether this game went to the guys or the girls. Jason sighed and uttered,

"Safe!"

"YES!!"

The girls screamed and ran over to Sharpay, pushing Ryan out of the way. They pulled her up and joined each other in a huge group hug. They were jumping and screaming together as the boys trudged around and cleaned up the game. Sharpay pulled away after awhile to inspect the damage her sliding had done to her new dress. A few grass stains her and there, but other than that, not a big deal. She was ecstatic that she'd won something other than a singing contest and that's all that really mattered.

"Good game, guys," Troy told the girls, kissing Gabriella affectionately.

"Yeah, nice win, Sharpay." Jason complimented.

"Thank you!"

"Who's up for some fireworks, huh?" Zeke suggested. "I love those things."

"I am!" Kelsi shouted enthusiastically, lacing her fingers through Ryan's. "They're so amazing."

Less then ten minutes later, the group of friends was perched on Troy's deck in the humid July night, watching the colorful explosions in the starry sky. All the beautiful colors played out for them, dancing around and falling back down again. The blues and greens and purples receded after exploding while the reds, oranges, and golds burst vividly into the night. Gabriella leaned against Troy, resting her head on his shoulder and sighing contentedly.

"This is so beautiful."

"It is," He agreed, kissing the top of her head. "Just like you."

"Must you be so cheesy?"

"Hey, I'm allowed one cheesy comment per conversation."

Gabriella laughed. "I love you."

"I love you too. Happy Fourth of July, Gabriella."

"Happy Fourth to you, too."

* * *

**Alright, I realize that was the dumbest ending in the history of dumb endings. Sorry. Next chapter's will be better, I promise.**

**Up Next: The gang prepares to say their goodbyes as they head off to college and move on with their lives...**


	12. Agosto

**Hi everyone! Happy August! Okay this one is the last chapter, so I want to take this time to thank all of you dedicated readers and reviewers that took time out of your hectic lives to read this story. Thank you all so much for putting up with me and my sporadic updates. Also, this story just made "Fanfiction of the Week" over at ZA Angels (which I'm not a member of, so I didn't even know!), so thank you Ellie for picking this story! I'm glad everyone liked it, and I'm sad to see it end. :( **

**Oh and the song at the beginning of the chapter is "Graduation" by Vitamin C. I'm sure you all knew that, but I just wanted to be sure...**

**I**** own nothing, again. But do enjoy this last chapter of "Un Año En La Vida."**

* * *

August

--

_And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives,_

_Where we're gonna be when we turn 25._

_I keep thinking times will never change,_

_I keep on thinking things will always be the same._

_But when we leave this year, we won't be coming back._

_No more hanging out cuz we're on a different track._

_And if you've got something that you need to say,_

_You better say it right now cuz you don't have another day..._

_--_

"Oh he is not seriously going to have sex with _that_."

"Oh my god, he is!"

"Ew, she looks like a train wreck!"

"Why do they always pick the gross ones?"

"I know! They never pick the girl who's made for them, and instead they settle for a... whore like this chick."

"In some cases, the guy settles for a geeky virgin, who'd rather read a book than go out and party."

"Sharpay, are you not over that?"

"Well..."

Sharpay, Kelsi, Taylor and Gabriella were at the Evans household two nights before their gang would part ways. They wanted to have their last girl's night together before they spent time together as a group. They were watching a movie that they already thought was horrible, and were making fun of each of the actors every time they popped up on the screen. Sharpay was propped up against the headboard of her queen-sized bed with a few pink frilly pillows, while Gabriella was beside her, though on her stomach, her chin resting upon a few other pillows at the foot of the bed. Taylor was sitting in a butterfly chair on one side of the bed with Kelsi at her feet on the floor. The plasma screen television was directly in front of the four of them and was turned up loud, which caused Ryan to come in every now and then to ask Sharpay if she could please turn it down. She said no each time.

At the conclusion of the movie, Sharpay popped it out of the DVD player and placed it gingerly back in the case. "So now what do you wanna do you guys?"

They each shrugged and Sharpay felt their sadness. "I know how you all feel. You might think that I _want_ to get out of here as fast as possible, but that's not exactly true."

"Seriously?" Taylor asked skeptically. "Because you always act like you can't wait to get the hell out of here."

"Well of course I want to get to New York to begin my acting career, but that doesn't mean that I really _really_ want to leave Albuquerque," Sharpay explained. When the girls glanced at each other confusedly, she sighed and continued. "I guess I'm just kind of nervous about not having a reputation up there. You know how every single person at East High knew who I was and what I could do. That sounds conceited, I know, but it's true. But when I get to New York, no one's going to know who I am and no one will care. I'll be just like everyone else and that... that's scary."

"I thought you were going to school in Pennsylvania?" Kelsi pointed out.

Sharpay shook her head, a smile on her face. "Nope! It turns out Skidmore actually _did_ accept me, and they sent me the wrong letter. This girl Sharry P. Evans was the one they turned down, but they sent her _my_ acceptance letter instead! Isn't that funny?"

"Not for Sharry," Gabriella said.

She shrugged. "Well whatever. I got into Skidmore and that's all that matters right now. They've got an amazing arts program!"

"Are you sure Daddy Evans didn't just buy her way into the school?" Taylor whispered to Kelsi.

"Ha ha, probably."

Sharpay frowned. "I heard that."

"I think I'm just upset that we're all going to be so far away," Kelsi admitted after a few moments of silence. She and Taylor climbed up on the bed with Gabriella and Sharpay before she continued. "You guys know how reserved I was. I've been like that all my life. You guys are kind of like my first real friends since... ever, I guess."

"God, same here, Kels," Gabriella agreed. "I've moved probably thirty to forty times in my life, so making friends was never really an option for me. You guys are my first real friends too."

"Hey, at least you and Troy are going to be close." Taylor pointed out optimistically. "It's kind of cool how that worked out."

Gabriella grinned. Troy would be attending the University of Connecticut, or UCONN, in New Haven. She was headed to Yale, also in New Haven. In fact, the two colleges were only about twenty minutes away from each other. "I know. Thank God."

"Okay!" Sharpay clapped cheerfully. "This was supposed to be a fun sleepover and you guys are ruining it for me. Let's find something to do before we all sink into a deep pit of graduation depression."

They laughed, knowing there would be a time for saying goodbye, but now, amidst their fun and excitement, was not it.

* * *

It was August fifteenth, the day before the first of the group of friends, Kelsi, left for college.

"What time does your flight leave tomorrow, Kels?"

"Eight-thirty."

"Oh."

Silence.

"So it's your last day. What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. What do you guys want to do?"

"... I don't know."

More silence.

All nine of them were hanging out in Gabriella's backyard, drinking the lemonade her mother made for them and trying to find something to do on their last day together. Although, this time they were hanging out wasn't the lightest of times, since each person was so overcome with emotion that everyone was leaving. Kelsi left for New York tomorrow, the sixteenth, while Taylor's New York flight left on the eighteenth and Sharpay's on the nineteenth. Gabriella left for New Haven, Connecticut early morning on the seventeenth, while Troy left mid-afternoon on the seventeenth. Ryan's flight to Michigan left on the twentieth and Chad's on the twenty-first. Zeke left for Florida on the twenty-second and Jason brought up the rear by leaving last on the twenty-fourth.

"Do you guys wanna go swimming?" Zeke suggested.

"Not really."

"Wanna go see a movie?"

"Nothing's playing."

"I think that new mini-golf place is open. Do you guys want to go there?"

"I'm really bad at golf."

"Well come on, you guys," Gabriella sighed. "We have to do something."

"I don't feel like it," Kelsi said sadly. "I feel like wallowing in self-pity."

"Well we're definitely not going to do that," Sharpay glared at the girl. "I'm with Gabriella on this one. Let's get the hell out of here and figure out something to do."

"That new restaurant on Market Street opened yesterday," Zeke pointed out. "You guys wanna try it?"

"Is it a nice restaurant?" Sharpay asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know I don't eat in any restaurants below five stars in customer satisfaction."

Chad rolled his eyes. "We know. You're a restaurant snob."

Sharpay shrugged. "Well, is it?"

Troy and Jason shared a glance. "Um... yeah."

The blonde's eyes narrowed. "That's not very convincing."

"Oh chill out, Shar," Ryan sighed, linking his arm through his sister's and pulling her towards the car. "I'm sure it'll be just as good as the five-star one we went to the other night."

Kelsi pulled Jason aside as the others walked ahead. "Hey, where are we going?"

Jason smirked and whispered the name of the restaurant into her ear. She laughed.

"Oh god, Sharpay will have a _fit_."

* * *

"I can't believe I'm actually sitting in this restaurant."

The group groaned and tried to ignore Sharpay's further comments as they skimmed over their colorful laminated menus. They were seated in a large fire engine red booth that graciously accommodated the nine of them. The table was a bright chrome silver, with an old-fashioned straw and napkin dispenser and the bright red and yellow plastic ketchup and mustard bottles. The floor was a black and white checkerboard pattern, and all the waiters and waitresses were wearing the traditional '50s garb- white blouses and pants, black shoes, a black tie, and an old hat that looked like a nurse's hat from the second world war. Sharpay Evans had _never_ eaten in a diner. Though, this wasn't your typical diner. This was Johnny Rockets.

"Hello, everyone!" A cheery girl in her early twenties greeted them. "My name's Holly and I'll be your server this afternoon! Would you like to start with some drinks?"

"I can't believe I'm actually _ordering_ in this restaurant." Sharpay scowled again.

"Sharpay, shut the hell up," Jason sighed. "She's thrilled to be here. Really."

Holly just grinned as the group put in their orders for drinks and ordered each of the appetizers, stating that it was their last day together; they might as well just splurge. Moments later, after everyone's main course order had been put it as well and their appetizers brought out (onion rings, French fries, cheese fries, chili fries, chicken wings, and a bowl of chili, which no one was going to eat except Chad or so he claimed), they began to realize that this was their last meal together.

"So this is really it, huh?" Gabriella asked, swirling a French fry in some ketchup. "I can't believe it."

"Hey," Sharpay pointed out. "No one complained when Gabriella said 'I can't believe it.' What the hell?"

"Gabriella's not bitching about coming to Johnny Rockets instead of Le Chalet Enchante, or wherever you guys eat." Chad explained.

"Whatever."

"Anyway," Taylor started. "Yeah. That's kind of scary. It feels like just yesterday that school was starting and we were all excited about senior year..."

"... and now here we are saying goodbye." Zeke finished for her.

"You guys, we're never going to see anyone again!" Sharpay shouted in realization. "I mean, what's going to happen to geeky little Brittney Cohen? I never got to make her popular! And she so _desperately_ needed my help!"

"Hey, Brittney is _not_ a geek," Gabriella defended.

"You only think that because you're one too. A much less nerdy geek, but you're a geek nonetheless." Sharpay said. "You've come a long way."

"Um, thank you?"

"As happy as I am to get out of here," Chad began. "I'm really going to miss all of you guys. Our friendship is like unbeatable. I don't think any other group of friends is as close as we are and it's going to be really hard getting used to not having you guys around. I like how whenever there was something wrong, we always had such a great support group. We were kind of like... Alcoholics Anonymous."

They each shot glances with one another. Taylor groaned. "Chad, it started it out so nice... and then you ruined it with that last comment."

He only laughed. "It's true!"

"I don't really want to leave," Kelsi admitted quietly, and Ryan's grip on her hand tightened. "I've never lived anywhere but here, and Chad's right, you know. You guys are the greatest friends I've ever had. And, as this might seem a bit pathetic, the _only_ friends I've ever had."

"Aw, Kelsi! We love you!" Taylor cooed and she laughed.

"My mom and I have been moving all over the country since I was nine," Gabriella affirmed. "I think I've lived in almost every state in the U.S. But for some reason, moving to college feels a lot different. I guess it's because, like Kelsi said, you guys are my first real friends too and I have to say goodbye this time. I never made friends purposefully so that I wouldn't have to go through the pain of saying goodbye to them. And now... I do."

"Well it isn't goodbye forever," Troy said in assurance to the rest of the group. "We'll be back for holidays, right?"

"Of course," Zeke agreed. "Plus, we're all pretty close, right? Well I mean, except for me and Jason."

"Jason and I," Taylor corrected. Zeke rolled his eyes. "But yeah. We'll all be in the northeast. That'll be good."

"Hey you know what we should do?" Sharpay suddenly thought aloud. "We should plan a big trip together for spring break this year. Kind of like a... reunion sort of thing. We can go to Cancun!"

"Sharpay, everyone goes to Cancun on spring break," Ryan said in a 'duh' tone. "Be more original."

"Yeah you're right."

"But that's a great idea," Gabriella agreed. "We'll have so much fun together."

"We always have so much fun together," Kelsi pouted. "That's why it's so hard to say goodbye."

"That's true."

"What if you guys were horrible friends? Like if you never returned phone calls and were backstabbers and stole each other's significant others and stuff like that? And told each other's secrets and fought every single day? Then it would be easy to leave each other." Jason reasoned.

Troy stared at him. "Jason, why would we be friends with people like that in the first place?"

"Well I don't know," He shrugged. "But it'd be easy, right?"

"Yeah, sure." Zeke laughed. "Anyway, I just want to say that it was a pleasure going through my high school years with all of you."

"That's sweet, Zeke," Taylor smiled. "I agree. We had some pretty good times in that place."

"We did have good times," Gabriella nodded in agreement, a grin upon her face. "We had great times and we'll always be friends. And that's what we'll have to remember come tomorrow."

* * *

"_Flight 2016 to Hartford, Connecticut now boarding. Flight 2016 to Hartford, Connecticut now boarding_."

Gabriella pulled out of her embrace with Troy to look him in the eye. She couldn't believe it was already time for her to go. "Oh my god, I'm really leaving now."

"I know," He looked heartbroken but tried desperately to cover it up for her. "This is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."

"Me too. I don't want to say goodbye."

"I don't either," Troy sighed. "I wish I was on that plane with you."

"I do, too." She reached up and kissed him long and hard on the mouth. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Gabriella," He brought her close to him once more. "You don't even know."

"I'll call you as soon as I get off the plane." She whispered softly, squeezing him even tighter.

"I know you will. I'll be waiting for that call."

Gabriella turned and said a tearful goodbye with her mother before wiping the remnants of her tears off her cheeks and gathering her carry-on luggage. It was hot outside but she couldn't feel colder as she walked back over to Troy. She shivered a little and he allowed her to fall carelessly back into his arms, consoling her as she cried and trying not to cry himself. He watched as the others on her flight boarded the plane, and knew she really had to go, but coming to terms with this realization was one of the worst feelings he'd ever felt before.

"Babe," He started, his voice cracking a bit. "We'll be fine. We're going to see each other soon. We're in the same state. Hell, we're in the same city. How many other couples can say that?"

She looked up at him, drying her tears once more. "I know. We're only about twenty minutes away, right?"

"Yeah. So we'll be okay. No, we'll be better than okay. We'll be amazing." Troy said, not only to assure her but to reassure himself as well. "I love you. Now go board that plane."

She giggled a little, despite the situation. "I love you too."

Kissing him one last time, Gabriella gathered her things and headed towards the gate slowly. Troy sighed. "This year went by so fast."

And she heard him, and turned around slightly to whisper. "Un año en la vida, Troy."

Troy watched her go and smiled. "A year in the life."

* * *

**And that's what that means. "Un año en la vida" ****means directly translated "A Year in the Life" in case you all were wondering. Please review for the last time, and I'll see you all in my next story! Bye!!  
**


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